Rawalpindi Hospital Launches No-Cost Cryoablation Cancer Care
Holy Family Hospital in Rawalpindi has introduced cryoablation treatment for cancer patients, with the first phase covering 15 people. The hospital received 15 single-use probes, each costing Rs. 1.6 million, and the procedure will be free. Eligible patients with liver, lung, breast, or kidney tumors no larger than 2 centimeters will be referred from several Rawalpindi hospitals and evaluated with NORI specialists.
Holy Family Hospital in Rawalpindi has begun offering cryoablation, a cancer treatment that uses extreme cold and then heat to destroy tumors. The first group consists of 15 patients, matching the 15 one-patient probes supplied; each probe costs Rs. 1.6 million and serves only one person.
Eligibility is limited to liver, lung, breast, or kidney tumors measuring 2 centimeters or less. Referrals come from Holy Family, Benazir Bhutto Hospital, Rawalpindi Teaching Hospital, and PKLI, with NORI Hospital specialists in Islamabad consulted before treatment. The service is free, and more probes are expected after phase one.
This could ease financial and travel burdens for eligible cancer patients in Rawalpindi, especially those with small tumors, by offering free treatment and coordinated referrals. It may also strengthen local oncology capacity and encourage earlier diagnosis, though the initial 15-patient limit and strict size criteria mean broader impact may remain modest until more probes arrive. Families and clinicians could benefit from specialist input via NORI.