Two states without cancer specialist

NST: KUALA LUMPUR: The shortage of oncologists in the country should be looked into to ensure prompt treatment of cancer sufferers.
Presently, there are only about 50 of these specialists in Malaysia despite cancer being the country's third biggest killer disease.
States like Perlis and Kedah do not have such specialists and Malaysian Oncological Society president Datuk Dr Mohamed Ibrahim Wahid said this has resulted in non-oncologists dabbling in specialised cancer treatments like chemotherapy.
He added that their lack of indepth knowledge, especially about the latest developments in the field, was causing much anxiety among cancer patients.
Dr Ibrahim, who is consultant clinical oncologist and medical director of Wijaya International Medical Centre, was speaking to reporters after delivering a talk on "The Multi-targeted Approach to Renal Cell Carcinoma", organised by Pfizer Malaysia, recently.
He said any anti-cancer drug or treatment, including chemotherapy, is safe if administered properly under an oncologist's supervision.
"In the case of renal cell carcinoma or kidney cancer, a disease that afflicts 2.3 out of 100,000 males and 1.2 out of 100,000 females in Malaysia, I have seen patients who had been told by non-oncologists that there was no treatment for it."
Dr Ibrahim said he had been able to keep alive a 60-year-old patient with end-stage kidney cancer for four years through targeted therapy using a new drug. This patient had earlier been told by non-oncologists that nothing could be done but to wait for his death.
"This patient was given a new lease of life and was able to continue a normal life for an additional four years.
"There are currently three drugs available in the country to treat kidney cancer which afflicts people of 40 years and above although there is no cure yet for it," he said.
Although the drugs were very costly, he said patients should not shy away as they could still apply for its use under the patient assistance programmes offered by hospitals.