Cancer in Papua New Guinea

Cancer is a killer in Papua New Guinea. According to the  medical symposium in Goroka has heard that the country’s cancer burden has  
reached unacceptable levels and needs addressing at the primary level and  not  only at the secondary and tertiary levels.

“By the time we  refer a  patient to the tertiary level most of the time it is only for  palliative  treatment. They usually will not survive, “says CEO of Kimbe
General Hospital Dr  Victor Golpak.

“As surgeons we are approached by patients referred  to us for surgery to remove an abnormal growth, lump or  ulcer. They may present  with lesions that are easily accessible anatomically or  lesions that may be  anatomically concealed.

“Our cancer mortality rates  are not  accurate because the majority of our cancer patients are discharged to
die at  home.”

Furthermore, the majority of these patients present at  the  point of definitive treatment too late, for various reasons such as
lack of  access to a health institution, failure of a primary health worker  to recognize  the disease, failure of a hospital worker to recognize the  disease, failure of the system to allow prompt referral to an appropriate  specialist, failure of the  system to provide necessary resources to
properly investigate and treat affected  patients, failure of the patient to recognize his or her own problem, especially
if there is no pain.


Dr Golpak said primary health includes  awareness and risk communication  to all levels of the community. It also includes properly managed programs
like active screening for risk factors and  detection of early lesions, and also prevention programs as in immunization  against causative agents.


“In PNG we do not have a formal cancer  screening service to pick up  early lesions of common cancers that are treatable  if detected early,”


He presented his paper on cancer an objective  for professionals to  embark on primary intervention and early detection for the
purpose of  prevention and curative treatment.

Facts about Cancer in Papua New Guinea
- about 10 people die every year
- no cancer treatment facilities
- lack of awarenesss and early treatment