Mouth cancer increasing

 Mouth cancer is increasing and there is lack of adequate treatment available through surgery and radiation therapy, a dental specialist said.

Dr Richard Pickworth, who has lived in the country for 37 years, said he saw a new mouth cancer case each week at his clinic.

Pickworth is the director of Meddent Company.

The company yesterday sponsored the women doctors’ breakfast at Hideaway Hotel in Port Moresby.

The breakfast was to talk about women’s cancer, in particular cervical cancer, which was posing a major threat to women in Papua New Guinea.

He said the purpose of hosting the event was to allow medical professionals to discuss health issues affecting people and to find a way of addressing them.

Pickworth praised the 51st medical symposium, saying it focused on finding smart ways to look at women’s health.  

“This medical symposium is focused on looking at women’s health and finding smart ways to address them,” he said. 

Pickworth said due the lack of radiotherapy programme, including expert advice as one of the three modality treatments for cancers, some of the cancer problems remained untreated and led to deaths.

Health Department manager for disease control Dr Lucy John admitted that there was no screening and prevention programme for cancer.

She said the current medical symposium would be the best avenue to put all the issues at the national level.

John said the symposium could come up with strategies to have a national comprehensive screening programme funded at all districts. 

The symposium was opened on Monday with discussions on cervical cancer as the leading cancer affecting women in rural areas resulting in many deaths.