Cancer is genetic and not a communicable disease, says doctor

CANCER is a genetic disease and not a communicable one a medical doctor says.
“If one of your family members have cancer, it is more likely to recur in other members of the family,” Pacific International Hospital (PIH) in Port Moresby Consultant Oncologist, Dr Suresh Raghunath said last month.
“We also have to dispel the ‘myth’ that cancer is an incurable disease and understand that cancer is curable in its early stages,” Dr Suresh said after PIH held a free consultation for cancer from March 18-31.
He said than 60 persons come in for the free consultation for cancer and most of them were women.
He said through the consultation, people are told the early signs of cancer, and how to check for these signs themselves.
Clinical coordinator, Vanessa Garey, told The National: “We also provide chemotherapy here for the approximate cost of K4,000 per session, depending on the stage and type of cancer that patients have.
“Currently we are treating 21 patients who come for cycles of chemotherapy and the majority of our patients are women for breast cancer.”