Overview
The National Cancer Coalition has conducted numerous donation projects with the public cancer hospitals of Uruguay, by providing them with chemotherapy medicines and other essential pharmaceuticals. These medicines have been used to treat both needy Uruguayan pediatric and adult cancer patients with many different types of cancer.

The Need

Over the last decade, the Uruguayan economy has encountered difficult times and its government has not been able to fully provide expensive cancer treatments to its population. Many public Uruguayan health facilities are in need of repair and refurbishment, but there are currently not sufficient funds to modernize these facilities or provide modern equipment and medicines.

The Hospital

NCC has focused its relief in Uruguay at the Instituto Nacional de Oncologia (INDO) which is headquartered in the capital city of Montevideo. The INDO is the largest public cancer hospital in Uruguay and its patients are treated at no cost, however if often does not have sufficient funds to acquire the chemotherapy medicines that are required by its patients. The hospital treats thousands of patients each year.

Distribution

A hand-over ceremony was held in Montevideo, Uruguay in June 2005 to distribute a donation of leukemia medicines from the National Cancer Coalition to the acknowledge previous donations to Uruguay by NCC. Participants included Uruguayan Minister of Health Dr. Julia Munoz, U.S. Embassy Charge d' Affairs James G. Willard, NCC's Director of Relief Thomas Roane, and Deputy Director of the INDO hospital Dr. Alberto Viola Alles, as well as the newspaper and television media. After the ceremony, the delegation was given an official tour of the Instituto Nacional de Oncologia.

Results

Hundreds of cancer patients in Uruguay that suffer from disease like leukemia, breast cancer, solid tumors are now receiving treatment for their disease. NCC is proud to be a part of helping cancer patients around the world to get the medicines that they require to one day be cancer-free.