Reflections on the 1st Week

Augusta Victoria Hospital, the only acute care hospital that services the entire Palestinian population of the West Bank and Gaza, focuses its resources on the treatment of cancer, and on improved equipment and facilities for hemodialysis. Pediatric dialysis has become a major concern because of the incidence of kidney failure among Palestinian children, and at the present time a pediatric wing is being constructed to help deal with this concern. Another undertaking is the reconstruction of the geriatric wing to make life more pleasant for long-term elderly patients.

Breast cancer is a major concern for AVH. All too often a Palestinian woman's breast cancer is at such an advanced stage when she arrives at the hospital that palliation is the only recourse. The reasons why a Palestinian woman does not seek earlier intervention are political and cultural: The Israeli policy of isolating Palestinian communities with the Separation Walls and the numerous checkpoints make it too difficult for some women to seek treatment, and a Muslim woman's fear that her husband will seek another wife when he discovers that she has cancer is a real deterrent to her seeking early treatment.

Recently AVH's cancer treatment department was sucessfully certified and the Israeli doctor who was a part of the certification team remarked that both staff and equipment are first rate. In fact, AVH's linear accelerator is newer than any similar machine in Israel. AVH's success is a result of generous donations from around the world. The hospital needs your donations and they can be made through Canadian Lutheran World Relief.