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Dr. Nael Al Naqeeb |
A Towering Personality
There was a time when there were
no specialized medical facilities
for cancer treatment in Kuwait. Two
men of vision recognized this gap
and decided to work together to
organize oncology care. Dr. Nael
Ahmed Al-Naqeeb and Dr. Youssef
Tewfik Omar decided to establish
treatment services in Kuwait for all
cancer. With a generous donation
from Mr. Hussain Makki Al-Jumaa,
their vision and efforts were
realized.
The dream came true
in October 1982 when the cancer
center was inaugurated by the late
Emir Sheikh Jaber Al Ahmed Al Sabah.
This center is the legacy of these
men of vision. The late Dr. Nael
Al-Naqeeb was a former
Under-Secretary of the Ministry of
Health and a senior oncology
surgeon. The late Dr. Youssef Omar
was a radiation and medical
oncologist, and the father of
Oncology in Kuwait.
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Dr. Al-Naqeeb graduated from
the School of Medicine of Baghdad
University in 1962, and was
appointed to the Ministry of Health
in 1963. In 1969, Kuwait University
sponsored him to receive his higher
education in England. He obtained
his FRCS and specialized in head and
neck cancer and general cancer
surgery. He also attended courses at
Harvard University.
On return
to Kuwait, he joined the Al Amiri
Hospital as chairman of the surgical department and was then appointed as
Assistant Undersecretary at the
Ministry of Health and then promoted
to be Undersecretary.
Dr.
Al-Naqeeb was one of the pioneers in
cancer surgery, marked by his
commitment and devotion to work by
offering consultancies even on
Fridays. He effectively balanced his
career as both surgeon and
Undersecretary, and played a key
role in the radiotherapy department
at Al Sabah Hospital before setting
up the Hussain Makki Jumaa Centre.
He received a British
Fellowship in 1965. When he returned
home, he laid the scientific basis
for cancer care and established in
collaboration with Dr. Omar the
first cancer patient registry in
Kuwait in 1974.
In 1982, when
the Hussain Makki Jumaa Center was
inaugurated, Dr. Al-Naqeeb played a
key role in making it the most
developed center for surgery,
radiation therapy and medical
oncology by meeting all the
requirements for cancer patients and
oncologists. The features included a
Tumor Pathology Laboratory, an
Immunohistochemistry Laboratory the
first of its kind in the Middle
East, a Tumor Biology Laboratory, a
Flow - Cytometry Laboratory and a
Radiotherapy Department equipped
with the latest technology.
Dr. Al-Naqeeb also focused on
training Kuwaiti doctors and
insisted that Kuwaiti doctors must
earn international qualifications.
The guide and mentor of Kuwaiti
surgeons, often referred to as the
'father of cancer surgery in
Kuwait', set a perfect example for
others, as a devoted doctor and
humanitarian. He passed away on
January 31, 2004.
May his soul
rest in peace.
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In their own words...
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A
family tribute to the late Dr. Nael
Al-Naqeeb - by his daughter Lamees
Nael Al-Naqeeb |
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(On behalf of Dr. Nael Al-Naqeeb's
family: his wife Souad Al-Refaie and
his children Dr. Huthail and Reham
Nael Al-Naqeeb)
Baba, Babati
and Jiddo (Grandfather) those are
the names we loved to call my
beloved father as they were the
closest to our hearts and to his.
Dr. Nael Al-Naqeeb was no ordinary
man nor was he an ordinary father
and never ever will he be regarded
as an ordinary doctor! He was a
loving and caring father who was a
role model to his children and to
all those around him.
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To his family he is a legend and to
his patients he was their savior
whom, with God's will, gave them a
second chance to live. "We will
always remember your father in our
prayers." That's what his patients
would always tell us.
To his
fellow doctors he was The Godfather
of Surgeons. With his scary tantrums
and terrifying shouts when the
operating room was not well
prepared! Or when his patients were
not well looked after or when one of
his children (mostly me!) did
something wrong.
The funny
part was it took Baba just 60
seconds maximum to cool down and
laugh it off. He had the kindest
heart that was big enough for Mama,
big enough for his three children,
and two more special people: his
grandchildren and his patients.
Dr. Nael Al-Naqeeb passed away
seven years ago but he is still
alive in our hearts, our souls and
in our actions.
He taught us
self-respect, pushed us to fight for
what we believed in, and to never
lose faith. He taught us how to
enjoy life and, most of all, how to
love.
Words will never do him
justice because to us Baba is the
legendary Dr. Nael Al-Naqeeb.
May he rest in peace.
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