Every morning, Erion Dehari packs a bag and leaves his room in the in-patient wing of the University Medical Centre “Mother Teresa” in Tirana, Albania’s capital, for his treatment.
The 27-year old student was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2016 in a hospital in Berat, a small city located 70 kilometres south of the capital. After unsuccessful treatments, he was transferred to “Mother Teresa” this summer where he is now receiving radiotherapy with a brand new linear accelerator, acquired with the support of the IAEA (see Linear accelerator).
“I received an operation in my hometown and the result was that I was not able to move my right hand and my left foot. Radiotherapy with the new machine has helped me a lot, after one month here, I’m feeling better, I can now move my hand and walk again,” said Dehari.
Cancer is a major public health problem in Albania. According to the Ministry of Health, the disease has become the second most important cause of death, after cardiovascular disease accounting for 27% of all deaths last year.
“About 7000 new cancer cases are reported in the country every year and it is estimated that at least 50% of these patients will need radiotherapy treatment”, said Orges Spahiu, Chief of the Radiation Oncology Department at the “Mother Teresa” Centre.
The lack of proper cancer care equipment and facilities means that many patients are left untreated. Radiation therapy machines are an essential part of effective cancer treatment, but they are expensive to acquire and maintain, and also require specialized treatment of medical staff.
“Mother Teresa”, which treats 90% of all cancer cases, is the only public hospital that provides radiation therapy treatment in this country of 3.3 million people.
