Radio oncologist returns to Angau

GOOD news for cancer patients in the country, a radio oncologist will soon arrive to take up the post at Lae’s Angau Memorial Hospital.
Health secretary Dr Clement Malau announced last week that Dr John Niblet will be returning to PNG.
He did not state when the doctor would be returning, but he did say Niblet had already signed a contract with the department. 
Niblet was the only radio oncologist based at Angau’s cancer unit, serving patients from all over the country until his departure in April.
“There are very few radio oncologists in the world that run the cobalt machine (treatment of cancer using radiotherapy),” Malau said.
He explained that the Health Department was different from the other departments because it had 26 cadres of health workers and each of them had different specialists and cancer was one of them.
Malau said market forces was a major factor that determined the availability of specialists in the country adding that that was one of the reasons why local doctors were leaving the country for “greener pastures” overseas.
The news of Niblet’s return has been welcomed by patients, especially women suffering from cervical cancer.
Cervical and breast cancers are commonest among women in PNG. Sadly, about 1,000 women die from cervical cancer every year while oral cancer was common among men as a result of betelnut chewing and excessive tobacco use.
Recently, The National visited the Port Moresby General Hospital’s cancer ward where the only oncologist Dr Li Ming, who is part of the fourth Chinese medical team to PNG was working.
Li has been treating cancer patients using chemotherapy.
The unfortunate thing that Li discovered was that patients were going in for treatment at a later stage where the cancer had already spread.
She stressed on the importance of awareness on getting regular check ups for early detection and treatment as the only way to save lives.