Prior to involvement of The Eye Cancer Foundation (ECF), Jordan had no practicing eye cancer specialists. We trained Dr. Yacoub Yousef and he established the first eye cancer referral center at The King Hussein Cancer Center in Amman. After years of building this center, Dr. Yousef has trained many eye cancer specialists for the surrounding countries and has offered life and vision-sparing treatments for patients throughout the Middle East. Finally, with a place to go, patients requiring eye treatment inundated these hospitals. With more and more patients needing eye cancer services, Jordan and the Middle East needed a specialist in eye pathology.
In response to this need, The ECF supported Dr. Jakub Khzouz’s fellowship in ophthalmic pathology and oncology with Dr. Sarah Coupland at the Royal Liverpool Hospital in Liverpool, England. Dr. Khzouz has so far spent one year learning modern methods of ophthalmic pathology (adult and pediatric), as well as the diagnosis and treatment of eye cancers.
Dr. Khzouz reports that his exposure to Eye and general Pathology with Dr. Coupland at Liverpool Hospital’s pathology laboratory was significantly different from his prior experience in Jordan. He learned that eye cancer specimens should be handled by trained eye pathology specialists. “Proper sample grossing and detailed reporting are important for staging and aid management,”says Dr. Khzouz. He intends to reassess prior pathology reports, stating that “once back in Jordan, my first project will be to review all the retinoblastoma cases archived in our pathology laboratory, independently report and stage them according to the latest 8th edition AJCC-TNM system, and then compare that with the original reports.” Such will be important for research purposes, as well as defining the impact and importance of fellowship-training with respect to complicated pathologies.
Our fellows have even greater plans for the future of eye cancer treatment in Jordan. Dr. Khzouz intends topartner with the first eye cancer specialist in Jordan, ECF Fellow Dr. Yacoub Yousef. “I have discussed with my colleague Yacoub, and by working together we will improve the quality of the King Hussein Ocular Tumor Service and reach out to other laboratories and countries to perform molecular and genetic testing for eye cancer patients.”
Through our fellowship programs, The Eye Cancer Foundation has sought to provide unserved and underserved countries with the best quality fellowship education and training from some of the most experienced specialists in the world. We motivate our fellows to bring new techniques and advancements to their home countries so that access to optimal eye cancer treatment becomes universal. We will continue to support our fellows, Dr. Yousef and Dr. Khzouz and now offer Jordan two fellowship-trained eye cancer specialists who are dedicated to saving sight, saving life and “paying it forward” by teaching fellows from other middle eastern countries.
However, our goal is not yet complete. Many more countries are in great need, and we hope to place at least one eye cancer specialist in each country. Click here to donate to our cause.
