THE Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC) acquired modern equipment that can help treat cancer patients at the Cancer Institute.
Speaking during the Kapehan sa Dabaw, Dr. Mae Dolendo, House of Hope Program Director, said that the SPMC has been on track in providing quality health services to its clients.
Dolendo said SPMC acquired facilities under the leadership of its hospital chief Dr. Leopoldo Vega. It has radiotherapy equipment, a retinal camera acquired through a donor, and an 810nm diode laser specific for eye cancer donated by Ayala Foundation.
“Before, we would send our patients outside the hospital to private facilities or to Tagum so that they could receive radiotherapy but now it’s already on site. We also have other facilities. We are the only place with retinal camera, the camera which can see inside the eye and document tumor and we also we receive the donation from Ayala, we have a laser that can kill cancer cells inside the eye,” she said.
“We have better resources, as you have seen, we have the Cancer Institute at SPMC. Half of the Cancer Institute is for Children’s Cancer Institute which has 44 beds for children with cancer,” she added.
In 2017, the SPMC Children’s Cancer Institute, under the Department of Pediatrics, catered 249 new cases of pediatric cancers and shares care with 110 more in five other health facilities.
She likewise underscored the need for early diagnosis to prevent cancer from getting worse.
“The most challenging problem continues to be delayed diagnosis due to difficult access to tertiary care and delayed referral; financial and psychosocial constraints; inadequate information and understanding of pediatric cancer and traditional beliefs,” she said.
The linkages they built with other countries have been a great factor as they seek to further deliver quality services to address the medical needs of cancer patients.
“Through its global alliance with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, TN, USA the SPMC Children’s Cancer Institute has improved its capacity in the diagnosis and treatment of pediatric cancer, nursing, infectious disease and palliative care. It is also the only institution outside of Manila that will train pediatric oncologists to serve Mindanao and its immediate environs,” she added.
However, she said that despite the efforts that they have poured on the treatment side, she noted that there are still more than 500 children with cancer across Mindanao that have not received treatment or seen a specialist noting that pediatric cancer is highly curable when diagnosed early, treated promptly and adequately.