After having benefited personally from cancer treatment at Rambam hospital, a Palestinian official donated tens of thousands of shekels to the health care campus.
After being diagnosed with cancer, a senior Palestinian official was directed to Rambam Health Care Campus in Haifa for further medical examinations and treatment. While hospitalized in the Joseph Fishman Oncology Center, he met with several families of patients from the Palestinian Authority and Gaza and showed a particular interest in the needs of hospitalized children, both Israeli and foreign.
“When I arrived at Rambam [Hospital], I saw a medical team caring for patients, but I also saw the suffering of the sick children,” recalled M. in a statement. (Rambam Medical Center spokespeople said they were not at liberty to reveal the man’s identity.)
“Palestinian, Israeli, Syrian and children from other countries receive treatment in the hospital for a variety of serious illnesses and need all the help they can get. I decided to contribute as much as I could, both a humanitarian act and a symbol of solidarity,” he explained.
After completing treatment, M. underwrote the establishment of a children’s recovery room in the Institute of Radiology, inside the oncology center. The room provides a relaxing and supportive environment for children before and after chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatments, among others.
The oncology center opened its doors in June 2016, but due to lack of funding, patients still receive radiation therapy in a different building.
1,200 Palestinian Children Treated Each Year for Cancer
Rambam estimates that approximately 1,200 Palestinian children and adults from the Palestinian Authority and Gaza visit the hospital every year for cancer treatment.
“Israelis and Palestinians suffer from the damage of violence, and I am striving towards a situation where we can all contribute to peace and health,” continues M. “One where we can take care of children, save lives, share knowledge and train Palestinian doctors at Rambam Hospital.”
M. added his goal is to improve the state of health systems and treatment capacities within the Palestinian Authority and Gaza and to encourage more Palestinians to contribute to health promotion between the two peoples.
“Medicine is a bridge between people, and I hope that owing to this donation and those which will come after, we will all live a better tomorrow,” M. concluded.
By: Ilana Messika/TPS
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