Trip Report #4–the Oncology Hospital

Feature Photo: The message on the plaque reads: “For benevolent help given by Churches of Christ, your care about our patients is priceless!”
In previous trips and updates I have described the efforts to assist the Ivano-Frankivsk Regional Oncology Hospital. We first became involved with this hospital when one of the regular attendees (Ivan Mykolovich) of the congregational assemblies was diagnosed with cancer and began treatments. In visits with Ivan, we became aware of pressing needs of the hospital. One of our meetings was with the Chief Doctor of Radiology Dr Yurri), Dr Lesia (who teaches radiology at the medical institutes and practices at the hospital, and the Director of the Hospital (Dr Ihor).

Here is a follow-up message from our last trip:

“Dear John Kachelman. Your last visit was of great importance to us. Our oncology center and the chief doctor Ihor Dmytrenko are grateful to you and Church of Christ for your willingness to continue helping our center. We are continuing internal work in the radiation oncology department to obtain a new linear accelerator, which will improve the quality of radiation treatment, and we will be able to protect healthy organs and tissues and of course will reduce queues for radiation treatment. Many displaced persons from eastern and central regions of Ukraine moved after the full-scale invasion and continue to come for treatment to the Ivano-Frankivsk Cancer Center and now the load on the only one treatment machine Cobalt60 is 1 million 500,000 and it continues to increase. I want to emphasize the fact that according to the IAEA norms one device can serve only 300,000 people. We spoke during your visit about future plans and suggestions! As we discussed we prepared the list of our needs. We will appreciate so much if you will have the opportunity to help equip the department with some of those below: air conditioners, wardrobes, uninterruptible power supply stations, technics. Your help is very important now. Thank you for not being indifferent and helping to build our tomorrow with incredible zeal!”

Special donations were received to help purchase some of the needs listed. Gif helped by being in-person and a ready contact between the Church and the Hospital Administration. Previous updates have described the actions associated with this project.

As a result of this benevolence project a plaque was presented to Gif and positioned so that over 1,000 patients, medical staff, and families of patients walk past it every day! The message of the plaque is in the above photo.

Adding to its updated equipment, the hospital has received a new CT Scanner. It has also received a top-of-the-line x-ray unit that can also give treatments. They are in the process of renovating the room where the x-ray unit will be. In each of these treatment waiting rooms the above plaque will be posted!

Germany has donated a new linear accelerator (cost is $90 million+) that is being installed (see photos below). I also have photos of the old Cobalt60 with a nurse beside it. The new unit is projected to begin operations in July this year. This opens the door for the Lord’s Church to be recognized in an amazing way! As Dr. Lesia states, this benevolence demonstrates that the Lord’s Church is “not being indifferent and helping to build our tomorrow with incredible zeal!” Our focus is upon the future ramifications of our actions. The objective is supported by a biblical pattern in Ecclesiastes 11:1, “Cast your bread on the surface of the waters, for you will find it after many days.” And again, Hosea 10:12, “Sow for yourselves, with a view to righteousness; Harvest in accordance with kindness.”