Doc: Cancers preventable

Health Watch

MOUTH and cervical cancers are two of the top killers in Papua New Guinea but they are preventable, a doctor says.
Head of obstetrics and gynaecology at the Port Moresby General Hospital and school of medicine and health science Prof Glen Mola said this during the World Cancer Day on Feb 4, organised by medical students who do volunteer work for the PNG Cancer Foundation.
Prof Mola and Dr Beena Dagam were invited to speak on “cancer burden at the Port Moresby General Hospital and insight into PNG’s cancer statistics”.
Prof Mola urged the students to take ownership of their influence as medical students in their communities.
He encouraged the students to make healthy lifestyle and social choices to protect their future and family from getting preventable cancer.
Dr Dagam shed light on the challenge of cancer management across the country without having an established or functioning tumour registry.
She expressed the need for each student to join the foundation in leading the conversation through more awareness activities and to combat common challenges that contribute to cancer in PNG, including community misconceptions (surgery causes cancer patients deaths, sorcery is the cause of cancer, village medicine, etc).
PNG Cancer Foundation programmes coordinator Loyla Mathew shared the challenges and reality of public health programmes at the community level.