New Beginnings

Staff member at BCFE giving an interview

Our next stop was the headquarters of Breast Cancer Foundation for Egypt, whom Susan G Komen partnered with to put on the Race for the Cure. The BCFE was celebrating their grand opening of a Patient’s Services unit! BCFE has been working relentlessly to provide education and support to women diagnosed with breast cancer. Their office was on the 9th floor of a building that was quite interesting. For a mental picture: Coleman coolers stacked to the ceiling at the entrance for sale, trash and dirt throughout, and an elevator that had a slight resemblance of the Tower of Terror ride at Disney World. The elevator didn’t have a door that closed, so the walls could be seen (and touched if you were feeling risky) as you were riding. This description serves a purpose, because once we arrived to the office of BCFE, it was a calming oasis. Pink tulle, brand new office equipment, informative pamphlets in Arabic and an incredible staff led by Dr. Shaalan! This is a place where women can come without feeling shame and gain support, education and even exercise classes for Lymphedema. Some of our newest friends on this trip are members of a group called “LINKS, ”a network of service-oriented professionals. They had provided a grant to the BCFE to start a prosthetic program for these women. It was a delight for them as well as us to see the fruits of their donations. This was a big day for the BCFE office with lots of media coverage and they were so grateful for the support of Susan G Komen Foundation. They even presented all of us with a beautifully wrapped crystal pyramid. With all of us crammed into their small offices and enjoying all of the festivities, they were still seeing patients. After a presentation and interview for media, we enjoyed a wonderful lunch with the staff and other various regional advocates before leaving for the National Cancer Institute.

The National Cancer Institute was an extremely emotional experience and something very hard to explain. We first gathered in the auditorium for a quick briefing with various hospital directors and doctors, whom I will not even begin an attempt to spell. The NCI receives around 100,000 new patients per year with over 200,000 patient visits per year. There are total of 600 beds available for treatments, which is also provided free of cost. Most of their budget consists of donations. The Dean of NCI said the most encouraging words I had heard all week, “In the past 2 to 3 days, Cairo has come out and talked more about cancer and breast cancer than it EVER has in the past.” We then separated into small groups and took a tour of the hospital. It was a sight that will stick with the whole Delegation for the rest of our lives. The floors were dirty with spills and mud, roaches crawling on the beds and stairs, medical charts in piles that were running off counters, hundreds of people crowded in rooms waiting for treatment. We passed out our heart pillows to women undergoing chemo in an area as small as some of our closets. Our brightly colored pillows brought a little light to a dark and desolate area. After our tour, we had a de-briefing and some Delegates had some wonderful suggestions including improvements to the volunteer program and toy donations. Although this was a powerful and ground-breaking week, there is still much work to be done in the Middle East.