MADINAH: More than 35 child cancer patients between the ages of three and 12 years recently attended a function organized for them at the Luna Park here by the Saudi Welfare Society to Combat Cancer (SWSCC) and the Blood and Oncology Center at the Maternity and Children’s Hospital in Madinah.
The children, who came with their families, were assembled around the theater where gifts and sweets were distributed. They posed for group photos and afterward had breakfast together.
Mukhaira Al-Harbi, mother of eight-year-old Maram and five-year-old Khadijah, who are both cancer patients, said she and her two daughters were very happy and had fun in the park.
“My daughters played with the other children and lived their childhood without feeling or being deterred by their disease,” she said.
Maram said she was very happy to come to the park and to forget all about painful medicine.
The mother of Muhammad Abdul Hameed, who has a cancerous tumor in his neck, said her son needed parties like these to be able to mingle with children his age who are also suffering from the same disease. She said her son has been treated at the hospital for the past two years and that she was full of hope that he would be cured.
Talal Mugharbil, manager of Al-Kikair company, which runs the amusement park, said the park is open free of charge all year round for cancer children.
“Children with cancer need to be amused to lift up their morale. We are trying our best to provide them the fun they need,” he said.
Dr. Zakariya Al-Hawsawi, head of the Blood and Oncology Center, said the center receives between 60 to 70 children suffering from different cancers, especially leukemia. He said 80 percent of the children are cured after long treatment and added that some cases are referred to King Faisal Specialist Hospital in Riyadh.
Al-Hawsawi called on private companies and establishments to extend material support to the center, which was established in 1984 to provide services to children with cancer.
Dr. Ismail Nizari, Dr. Salah Raddadi and Yahya Al-Saif, all members of the SWSCC, reiterated that the society would continue to provide, moral, material and social support to children suffering from cancer.
