Doc: It is preventing early treatment of cancer patients

Star: PETALING JAYA: Seventy per cent of the 50,000 newly-detected cancer patients in Malaysia each year need care from oncologists. However, there are only 60 such cancer specialists in the country qualified to treat them.
Universiti Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC) senior lecturer and clinical oncologist Dr Daniel Wong Wai Yan said the waiting list in government hospitals was between a month and six weeks.
There are currently only 15 oncologists with Health Ministry hospitals where a majority of patients seek treatment.
Apart from the long queue, he said patients also had to travel far for treatment as many hospitals did not have oncology services.
“Some of the patients may be dead or too sick to see a doctor when they finally get their turn to see an oncologist,” said Dr Wong, who is also a member of the Clinical Oncology Speciality Committee for Universiti Malaya.
He added that the remaining 30% of patients diagnosed were either at the early stage of the disease and could be treated by specialists from related disciplines or those who were at the end-stage where the treatment was to reduce their suffering before they died.
Dr Wong, however, added that oncologists were now able to detect the exact location, stage of the cancer and assess its development.
“With the availability of more options of drugs and high-tech radiotherapy facilities nowadays, we need to spend more time to plan treatment with our patients,” Dr Wong said, adding that an oncologist treats about 300 patients a year.
Deputy Health Minister Datuk Rosnah Abd Rashid Shirlin said patients could also seek treatment at teaching hospitals like UMMC and Hospital Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, and private hospitals.
“Government hospitals without resident oncologists have visiting oncologists from nearby hospitals to help out,” she said, adding that some cancer patients were also treated by specialists from related disciplines.