While this is definitely good news for those from the lower income group, the house located in Taman Ujana Kingfisher in Likas here can only cater to six to eight patients at one time and this is hardly enough given the 8,000 cancer patients in Sabah.

Likas Women and Children’s Hospital director Dr Tan Bee Hwai welcomed Makna’s efforts as this its fourth halfway house in the country.

The nearby Likas Women and Children’s Hospital houses the multi-million ringgit Nuclear and Radiotherapy Medical Centre, which is the first one-stop medical centre of its kind to serve patients in Sabah, north Sarawak and Labuan.

Tan said other than those from Kota Kinabalu, cancer patients come from all over the state, including remote areas in the east coast and interior areas.

“Our patients are from Sandakan, Tawau, Kinabatangan, Lahad Datu, Keningau, Ranau and Kudat.

“If they have to undergo radiotherapy, they need to stay here for 30 to 35 days and staying in hotels will be expensive,” he said after launching the house today.

Tan said another cancer support facility was operated by NGO Taiwan Buddhist Tzu Chi Malaysia (Kota Kinabalu).

The cost of cancer treatment is rising annually, he said, and more such facilities were needed, particularly to accommodate underprivileged patients.

Tan said the incidence of cancer in Sabah was 1 to 400, with breast and cervical cancer the most common among women, and large intestine cancer is most common among men.

“Out of the 3.5 million people in Sabah, we know 8,000 have cancer. Some 600 are children, mostly with leukemia and some with brain cancer,” he said.

Meanwhile, Makna’s administration and finance head Azlina Mohd Rashid said this was their fourth of the nine halfway houses planned for the country. The others are located in Johor, Penang and Kelantan.

A house in Kuching is expected to open by the year-end, she added.

The Likas halfway house has four fully-furnished bedrooms, a living room and kitchen with basic necessities. It also has free WiFi, satellite TV service and provides transportation to and from the hospital.