In the quiet, leafy village of Joymontop in Manikganj, something extraordinary is happening. It’s more than a structure and not a mere expectation —it’s a beacon of hope for thousands of vulnerable. A hope that people battling cancer, especially the poor and forgotten, will no longer have to walk that journey alone.
This week, the foundation was laid for Bangladesh’s first-ever Cancer Care Village, a place built not just with bricks and mortar, but with memories, loss, love—and an unshakable commitment to humanity.
At the heart of it all is Nazmus Ahmed Albab, a man who has twice faced cancer and lived to fight for others. He knows the loneliness of hospital corridors and the helplessness of wondering how to afford the next round of treatment.
“Cancer is not easily defeated,” Albab says quietly. “But we’ve seen—by the grace of Allah—patients do recover, if only they have the care, the mental strength, and a little support.”
That’s the vision behind the Cancer Care Village: a sanctuary where underprivileged cancer patients receive not just treatment, but also love, dignity, and a sense of belonging.
“This is for the people who have nothing left,” Albab adds. “Who sell their homes, their land, everything—only to find the treatment still out of reach. We want to stand beside them.”
One of the first to stand with him is Lt Col (retd) Mudassir Hossain Khan, Bir Pratik, a freedom fighter who has known the worst kind of pain: the loss of a child.
“We had three children,” he says, his voice catching. “ Mosabbir, One of them, died of cancer after battling with it.We fought, but we lost him. I have understood the sufferings and sustained agony of my dying child. ”
He initiated the establishment of this hospital in 2024 as a philanthropic gesture. Since then, more than 12,000 cancer patients—many of them from the poorest corners of the country—have received food, shelter, and treatment there, free of cost.
Then, in a cruel twist of fate, Mudassir was diagnosed with cancer himself during the COVID-19 pandemic. “They found it in one of my kidneys. I had surgery. Alhamdulillah, I survived,” he says.
Rather than stepping back, Mudassir partnered with Albab to expand their mission. Together, they opened Mosabbir Alok Nibash, a centre that now cares for nearly 100 cancer patients at any given time.
But even that wasn’t enough.
“We were full,” says Anis A. Khan, President of BANCAT, the organization spearheading the project. “So we dreamed bigger.”
Now, that dream is rising from the soil of Manikganj: a 200-bed Cancer Care Village that will serve more than 5,000 patients every year. The village will include not just shelter and food, but also spaces for healing—emotional, spiritual, and communal.
There will be:
Alok Katha, a community space for patients and families,
Alokon, a counselling and wellness centre,
A Screening and Early Detection Centre,
A Research and Innovation Hub, and
A Caregiving Training Institute, where local residents can learn to care for patients—and earn a living doing it.
“It’s easy to build walls,” says Mudassir. “But building a community of care—that takes heart.”
Construction is expected to take three years. Until then, the team at BANCAT will continue their work—spreading awareness, supporting patients, and proving that compassion can save lives.
So far, they’ve helped more than 3,000 people navigate cancer with dignity. And when this village opens its doors, it will offer not just treatment—but home, hope, and healing.
In Joymontop, something remarkable is happening. A place is being built where no one has to face cancer alone. And that might be the greatest cure of all.
