Lack of medical equipment affects treatment: Doc

ATTITUDES to cancer are just one area that Papua New Guinea can improve on to address the disease, a doctor says.
Dr James Naipao, a surgeon involved in the treatment of cancer, said this while observing World Cancer Day last Friday.
He said diagnosis, treatment and management of the disease was affected by a lack of staffing at the country’s major hospitals and a lack of appropriate medical equipment.
Naipao said the problem was that many Papua New Guineans tended to come to the hospital once the cancer had reached an advanced stage.
He said compounding the situation was that the country lacked trained specialists (histopathologists) who could diagnose cancer at an early stage.
Naipao said in developed countries, doctors dealt mostly with stage one and two cancers because of their higher standard of health services whereas in PNG, most of the patients seen were at stage three and four.
He said PNG needed more health workers, manpower training, facilities, operating theatres, cancer management specialists and clinical treatment.
Naipao said the cancer centre at Angau Memorial Hospital in Lae had the only cobalt cancer machine in the country, but, this would be complemented by a new radiation and oncology building at the Port Moresby General Hospital (PMGH). He acknowledges the Government for building the second cancer centre in the country.
Naipao said the country’s rising population required cancer facilities similar to the ones at Angau Hospital and PMGH to be built in the Highlands and at a central location in the New Guinea Islands.
He said people needed to understand that cancer was caused by environmental, genetic and lifestyle factors, but they could do things to minimise the risk of developing the disease.
Naipao said simply eating healthy food and reducing or stopping smoking, drinking alcohol and chewing betel nut were things people could do to prevent cancer.
“Cancer in PNG is winning the race as we are addressing it at a snail’s pace with more patients dying from it while waiting for the available treatment.”