King Hussein Cancer Center
Encyclopedia
The King Hussein Cancer Center (KHCC) (Arabic مركز الملك حسين للسرطان) is a medical center in Amman
, Jordan
. It treats both adult and pediatric patients. KHCC treats over 3500 new cancer patients each year from Jordan and the region.
KHCC has established programs that focus on all stages of comprehensive cancer care: from prevention and early detection, through diagnosis and treatment, to palliative care.
The King Hussein Cancer Foundation (KHCF), founded in 1997, undertakes various fundraising activities to support and maintain the mission of KHCC as a comprehensive cancer center of excellence. KHCF is a free-standing, independent, non-governmental, not-for-profit organization established by a Royal Decree to combat cancer in Jordan and the Middle East region. The Foundation and Center is run by a Board of Trustees consisting of a dedicated group of prominent volunteers and chaired by HRH Princess Ghida Talal. The Director General of KHCF is HRH Princess Dina Mired and Dr. Mahmoud Sarhan is the Director General of KHCC.
In 1997, the Al-Amal Center, meaning “The Center of Hope”, opened its doors. This much-need cancer-specific hospital was established to provide the many patients in Jordan with quality care comparable to that offered in the West. To honor the late King Hussein, who had died of cancer, the Center was renamed the King Hussein Cancer Center in 2002.
From 2002-2006, the hospital intensely focused on areas of quality control, and the recruitment of highly-qualified staff. Patients, patient services, programs and staff exponentially increased at a rapid pace. The focus, from its inception, was to deliver the highest level of care in a safe environment.
In 2006, Mahmoud Sarhan became the Director General and CEO of the King Hussein Cancer Center. Dr. Sarhan, a former Professor of Pediatrics in the Bone Marrow and Stem Cell Transplantation Program at Duke University
, was an instrumental figure in the Center’s establishment. He founded KHCC’s Bone Marrow Transplantation (BMT) program in 2003, a program which has become one of the largest and most successful BMT programs in the Middle East. It is one of the largest (performing approximately 100 bone marrow transplants each year) and most successful programs in the Middle East, achieving cure rates compatible with international standards. The program oversees both matched allogeneic and autologous transplants and performs transplants utilizing cord blood, making it the only program in Jordan and the second in the region that offers such a highly specialized procedure. Other non-cancer cases are also treated through the KHCC BMT program including thalassemia, aplastic anemia and other metabolic diseases.
JBCP’s operations are managed by an executive board led by KHCC and KHCF which provides its direction and ensures the implementation of action plans. HRH Princess Dina Mired, Director General of KHCF and Dr. Mahmoud Sarhan, Director General of KHCC, together chair the Jordan Breast Cancer Committee and the Executive Board.
In 2010, the King Hussein Cancer Center and the American University of Beirut Medical Center signed an MoU to create a joint program in research.
Amman
Amman is the capital of Jordan. It is the country's political, cultural and commercial centre and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. The Greater Amman area has a population of 2,842,629 as of 2010. The population of Amman is expected to jump from 2.8 million to almost...
, Jordan
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
. It treats both adult and pediatric patients. KHCC treats over 3500 new cancer patients each year from Jordan and the region.
KHCC has established programs that focus on all stages of comprehensive cancer care: from prevention and early detection, through diagnosis and treatment, to palliative care.
The King Hussein Cancer Foundation (KHCF), founded in 1997, undertakes various fundraising activities to support and maintain the mission of KHCC as a comprehensive cancer center of excellence. KHCF is a free-standing, independent, non-governmental, not-for-profit organization established by a Royal Decree to combat cancer in Jordan and the Middle East region. The Foundation and Center is run by a Board of Trustees consisting of a dedicated group of prominent volunteers and chaired by HRH Princess Ghida Talal. The Director General of KHCF is HRH Princess Dina Mired and Dr. Mahmoud Sarhan is the Director General of KHCC.
History
Prior to the mid-1980s, there was no infrastructure for treating cancer patients in Jordan. For quality care, wealthy patients sought treatment abroad, while those without means were treated locally, with limited resources and poor results.In 1997, the Al-Amal Center, meaning “The Center of Hope”, opened its doors. This much-need cancer-specific hospital was established to provide the many patients in Jordan with quality care comparable to that offered in the West. To honor the late King Hussein, who had died of cancer, the Center was renamed the King Hussein Cancer Center in 2002.
From 2002-2006, the hospital intensely focused on areas of quality control, and the recruitment of highly-qualified staff. Patients, patient services, programs and staff exponentially increased at a rapid pace. The focus, from its inception, was to deliver the highest level of care in a safe environment.
In 2006, Mahmoud Sarhan became the Director General and CEO of the King Hussein Cancer Center. Dr. Sarhan, a former Professor of Pediatrics in the Bone Marrow and Stem Cell Transplantation Program at Duke University
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
, was an instrumental figure in the Center’s establishment. He founded KHCC’s Bone Marrow Transplantation (BMT) program in 2003, a program which has become one of the largest and most successful BMT programs in the Middle East. It is one of the largest (performing approximately 100 bone marrow transplants each year) and most successful programs in the Middle East, achieving cure rates compatible with international standards. The program oversees both matched allogeneic and autologous transplants and performs transplants utilizing cord blood, making it the only program in Jordan and the second in the region that offers such a highly specialized procedure. Other non-cancer cases are also treated through the KHCC BMT program including thalassemia, aplastic anemia and other metabolic diseases.
Accreditations
- Joint Commission International Accreditation (JCI), (February 2006).
- JCI Disease Specific Certification (DSC) - First Cancer Center outside of the United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, (November 2007). - Hazardous Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) Systems and Guidelines for its Application, (April 2008).
- College of American PathologistsCollege of American PathologistsThe College of American Pathologists , is a medical society serving more than 17,000 physician members and the laboratory community throughout the world....
Accreditation (CAP), (July 2009). - Heath Care Accreditation Council of Jordan, (August 2009).
International Affiliations
- The U.S.-Middle East Partnership for Breast Cancer Awareness and Research: in collaboration with the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston
- St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, TennesseeTennesseeTennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
, USA - Lombardi Cancer Center of Georgetown UniversityGeorgetown UniversityGeorgetown University is a private, Jesuit, research university whose main campus is in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic university in the United States...
, USA - Moffitt Cancer Center, USA
- The National Cancer Institute, Egypt
- The Hospital for Sick Children , Canada
- The Stefan Morsch Foundation, Germany
- Susan G. Komen for the Cure, USA
- Roswell Park Cancer InstituteRoswell Park Cancer InstituteThe Roswell Park Cancer Institute is a comprehensive cancer research and treatment center located in Buffalo, New York. Founded in 1898 by Dr. Roswell Park, it was the first dedicated medical facility for cancer treatment and research in the United States. The facility is involved in drug...
, NY, USA
Activities
In 2007, KHCF and KHCC were entrusted to lead the first national breast cancer program, Jordan Breast Cancer Program (JBCP), in partnership with the Ministry of Health and other stakeholders. The main objectives of the program are to reduce morbidity and mortality from breast cancer through awareness campaigns, early detection and access to screening for all women in Jordan in order to shift the current state of diagnosis to the early stages of the disease, when it is most curable with high survival rates.JBCP’s operations are managed by an executive board led by KHCC and KHCF which provides its direction and ensures the implementation of action plans. HRH Princess Dina Mired, Director General of KHCF and Dr. Mahmoud Sarhan, Director General of KHCC, together chair the Jordan Breast Cancer Committee and the Executive Board.
In 2010, the King Hussein Cancer Center and the American University of Beirut Medical Center signed an MoU to create a joint program in research.