Rejoinder, our reply

The National Institute of Cancer Research and Hospital (NICRH) has sent a rejoinder against an editorial of The Daily Star titled "Patients continue to be denied treatment". The rejoinder, signed by Prof Dr Qazi Mushtaq Hussain, director and professor of radiotherapy department at NICRH, claimed that the information cited was "totally incorrect". It said that cancer patients at the hospital are treated as per international guidelines set in ASCO, ESMO and BSRO that maintain that the patients should test negative for Covid-19 before any chemotherapy, radiotherapy or surgery. It also said that unlike the information cited in the June 18, 2020 editorial, the hospital has been admitting patients without Covid-19 test results in separate wards since June 9, 2020. After their admission, tests for Covid-19 are conducted, followed by treatment and consultation.

Our Reply

The editorial comment was in reference to a report that was based on a personal interview with a cancer patient, who was found lying on the floor of the entrance to the aforementioned hospital on June 16.