Q&A
PRINCESS DINA MIRED
At the time, the family was living in England.
Through the country’s National Health
Service, Rakan began to receive treatment,
but his cancer relapsed after 18 months of
chemotherapy. The family traveled to Boston,
where Rakan received a bone marrow transplant at the Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s
Cancer and Blood Disorders Center.
Then, Jordanians had few, if any, treatment options at home. Around the time
of his diagnosis, the Al-Amal Center (in
Arabic, amal means hope)—the first center
for cancer care in Jordan—was just opening.
Back then, cancer was so taboo, Mired says,
that the word was intentionally omitted
from the center’s name. Later, the name was
changed to the King Hussein Cancer Center.
The family moved back to Jordan in 2000.
Mired began working for the foundation
associated with the cancer center in 2002.
“I knew then,” she says, “this was the
reason why God put me on this path.” For
the next 14 years, Mired served as director
of the foundation, raising both money and
awareness. She stepped down from that
position in June 2016.
Now, Mired is preparing to broaden
the scope of her efforts. In November
2016, she was elected president of the
Union for International Cancer Control
(UICC). Based in Geneva, Switzerland,
the UICC works to keep cancer at the
forefront of the world health and devel-
opment agenda. When she moves into the
position in October 2018, Mired will be
the first Arab and the first nonmedical
professional to be president of the UICC.
Rakan is now 21. When Cancer Today spoke
with Mired, she was preparing to travel to
Switzerland to attend his college graduation.
When Dina Mired married Prince Mired bin Raad of Jordan in 1992, she became a princess. Five years later, in November 1997, their son, Rakan, was diagnosed with acute
lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) a few days before his second birthday.
That’s when Mired gained a new title: cancer caregiver.
ROLLING UP
HER SLEEVES
PRINCESS DINA MIRED OF JORDAN WILL BE THE FIRST
ARAB PRESIDENT OF THE UNION FOR INTERNATIONAL
CANCER CONTROL
