Palestinian researcher Jihad Shana’a has discovered a way to cure cancer with copper.

Shana’a, a master’s student in An-Najah National University in the West Bank, is one of the many people in the world working around the clock to provide successful treatments for thousands of cancer patients.

The treatment, which is Shana’a’s graduation project, is still in testing. It is based on planting several kinds of cancer cells and killing them with copper complexes

The hopeful researcher says, “we still have a long way before actually applying this method in treating cancer patients, as it has yet to be applied on the cells of a live subject.”

“We are still at the beginning of our research, and if the treatment of an animal using this method succeeds, we will use it with a human patient,” he said.

Shana’a said that his research has experienced many challenges, such as the lack of natural human cells and the 6-months delay in receiving crucial research material, as well as the lack of needed equipments.

According to Palestinian news outlet Al Najah, medical research in the region is hampered by the scarcity of materials, the lack of specialized research places, and various political and economical issues.