Cancer drugs low in stock

National

THE increasing number of breast cancer patients at the Port Moresby General Hospital (PMGH) is resulting in a shortage of drugs.
PMGH recently ran out of one of the drugs used to treat breast cancer patients.
Sr Moxie Erepan said over the past three weeks before the Pink Ribbon awareness, the cancer clinic faced a shortage of the drug (Methotrexate injection). “Since we’ve run out, breast cancer patients have been paying for that drug,” she said.
Breast cancer and other cancers have caused a major challenge for doctors and nurses to treat.
Dr Kenneth Sodeng told The National that they did not have all the treatment modalities that they should but at least they had something for the patients in terms of chemotherapy. He said cancer drugs were not medicines that people could buy over the counter.
“Cancer drugs are very important and specific drugs for specific disease and it’s not like diabetes drugs, hypotension drugs or even simple drugs like panadol and malaria tablets that you need prescription for.”
Despite the challenges, doctors and nurses work extremely hard to save lives. The hospital has a new cancer centre that will have radiation machines for cancer treatment.