Cancer Doctors, Medicines Exist Here; Only Management Does not

The talented playwright and director Matia Banu Shuku is battling cancer. She was diagnosed with this incurable disease eight months ago and was immediately taken to Chennai, India, where she underwent treatment. She returned home recently but must go back to India this month. Her husband, Nurul Alam Atique, told Agamir Somoy that they need to leave for India soon. Her treatment has been ongoing for a long time, and this next trip is for the final follow-up.

Matia Banu Shuku is the daughter of language martyr Abdul Matin. Netizens have been vocal on social media regarding her treatment, drawing the government's attention and calling for support for this esteemed creator. Nurul Alam Atique, said cancer doctors and medicines verily exist in the country; only management is lacking.

Nurul Alam Atique, a Bangladeshi television dramatist, scriptwriter and film-maker said: "Cancer is a disease that doesn't just drain a person financially; it devastates them mentally. Only those families who experience such an illness can truly understand the struggle. We have been suffering for a long time, with regular chemotherapy and ongoing treatment. This requires frequent trips to India. Overall, it is a difficult ordeal. Everyone knows we need government assistance; I cannot keep repeating this."

Atique believes that quality cancer treatment can be done in Bangladesh. The country has the doctors and the medicines, but it lacks proper management. This is why a vast number of people are forced to go abroad every year.

The director of the film Lal Moroger Jhuti (Call of the Red Rooster) said, "There is a lack of good cancer treatment in our country. We certainly have world-class cancer specialists in Bangladesh, and we produce high-quality cancer medications here. So, where is the problem? The problem lies in our management. We do not have proper management for cancer treatment. We have doctors and medicines, but we don't have enough skilled nurses. Or, even where there are good nurses and doctors, there isn't sufficient space or a proper system for supervision and care."

"Millions of people have to seek treatment under these conditions, and many are forced to go abroad. If we had a sound management system here, going abroad wouldn't be necessary. Our pharmaceutical companies are producing good cancer drugs, and we have excellent doctors," Atique added.