Bhaktapur Cancer Hospital

The Hospital Bhaktapur Cnacer Hospital is specialised in the treatment of cancer patients, covering the whole range of the disease from solid tumours to lymphatic tumours and leukaemia. It has been founded in 1999 by Rotary Internations, the Nepal Cancer Relief Society and the Nepalese Government, who alltogether are still running the hospital. Due to this support it is possible to offer health services to all patients in an affordable way. The hospital has 24 beds, out of which 3 are separated in an isolation unit. There are two dormitories and three double bed rooms. As in every hospital in Nepal, there is a pharmacy in the hospital, serving the patients with medicines, but also with needles and syringes etc. they need for their therapy and which is, other than in western countries not paid for by insurances.
	In the OPD, more than 50 patients are seen per day, patients coming for follow up, out patient treatment or presenting as new cases. Besides the medical director, there are 3 consultants and 4 junior doctors working in the hospital supported by nurses and further staff. The medicines are mainly imported from India, where all modern medicines, including modern chemotherapeutics are available, as some of the big industries are producing in India, leaving some products also to the local market. Thus virtually all pharmaceutics are available in Nepal, but the prices still exceed by far what people can afford. There is a laboratory in the hospital, where simple blood test can be done, as well as some histological investigations, which now no longer have to be sent to India. An other important equipment of the hospital is a radiation machine. Supported by Rotary, who pay 50 treatments for poor patients per year, more than 100 treatments are done. A small operation theatre allows minor operations like biopsies, lymphnode excisions, and others.
What NRA did so far: Together with Rotary a fond is built up, from which chemotherapies for poor patients will be paid. Furthermore money was gathered for a digital camera fitting on a microscope. Now it is possible to get other experts opinions on difficult pathological findings within very short and precious time is saved. There is a Institute of Pathology in London cooperating with Bhaktapur Cancer Hospital.