Jhapa, 2 February: Yeti Airlines Pvt. Ltd. and Purbanchal Cancer Hospital have signed an agreement to provide free air tickets to cancer patients. The airline’s Chief Commercial Officer Yubaraj Bista and Purbanchal Cancer Hospital’s Chairman Durga Prasai signed the agreement on Saturday. On the occasion, Yeti Airlines Deputy Manager Bimal Bista informed that they agreed to provide free air tickets to cancer patients while fulfilling their social responsibility.
The Purbanchal Cancer Hospital in Birtamod has been operating since 18 Falgun 2076 BS(1 March 2020). The 100-bed hospital is providing treatment technologies including PETCT, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, surgery and other treatments for cancer patients, said Dr. Birendra Yadav, Medical Superintendent of the hospital.
He said, “The facility of free air tickets will help cancer patients. Patients from all over the country will no longer have to travel to India for expensive treatment technologies, including Pet City.”
Pramish Giri, Public Relations Officer of Purbanchal Cancer Hospital, informed that in order to get the free air ticket, it is mentioned in the agreement that one must prove that one has been diagnosed with cancer and is receiving treatment at the hospital. “Patients coming from any part of the country for treatment can avail this facility once,” he said, “but to avail the facility, one must ensure that one has been diagnosed with cancer and has received treatment at the hospital.” He said that the patient will get a double ticket to go to the hospital and return home. Public Relations Officer Giri informed that 6,484 new cancer patients have been treated at Purbanchal Cancer Hospital in the last five years. He said that cancer patients in rural and remote areas are still deprived of treatment due to lack of awareness and financial constraints.
He said that due to the availability of state-of-the-art equipment and skilled medical manpower, the number of patients coming to the hospital for treatment from all corners of the country and abroad is increasing every year. Among the new patients diagnosed in the past five years, the highest number of patients treated were 814 with breast cancer and 805 with lung cancer, informed the hospital’s Medical Superintendent Dr. Yadav. The number of patients with cervical cancer and nose, ear, and throat cancer is in third and fourth place, respectively.
Tikaram Shiwakoti of Ratuwamai Municipality-5 in Morang said that the agreement to provide free air tickets to seriously ill patients with the aim of providing relief in treatment costs has made the service recipients happy. He has been receiving treatment for his wife’s lung cancer at the same hospital for the past four months. He said that Ratuwamai Municipality is providing free ambulances to take patients to and from the hospital. “For the wealthy, there may be no difficulty in getting to the hospital due to lack of transportation, but for poor families, it may be difficult to reach the hospital on time due to lack of funds,” he says. “The hospital must provide relief in transportation and medical treatment for poor and helpless patients.”
The hospital’s public relations officer Giri informed that helpless and poor families who come to the Purbanchal Cancer Hospital for treatment receive free treatment of up to Rs 100,000 under the government’s poor citizen medical treatment program. The Lumbini provincial government has been providing free treatment facilities of up to Rs 200,000 separately for poor patients.
