THE Brunei Cancer Centre (TBCC), one of three centres under Pantai Jerudong Specialist Centre (PJSC) organised a Cancer Symposium in conjunction with World Cancer Day yesterday. The theme for this year’s World Cancer Day is, ‘We can, I can’.
The event at Goldstone Room, The Centrepoint Hotel, Gadong was attended by over 150 health care personnel, doctors, nurses, allied personnel from the government and private sectors across the country.
The symposium commenced with a welcoming speech by the Executive Director of TBCC, Dr Haji Mazrul Adimin bin Haji Besar.
“World Cancer Day is a chance to reflect on what you can do, what we can do, make a pledge and take action. In conjunction with World Cancer Day, I hope we can learn new things from each other at today’s Cancer Symposium and use the knowledge that we gain to make a difference,” he remarked.
The speakers included Dato Dr Babu Sukumaran, Consultant Oncologist at TBCC, who spoke on cancer epidemiology in Brunei Darussalam; Dr Haji Mazrul Adimin, Executive Director and Associate Specialist Surgeon of Maxillofacial, Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, who spoke on head and neck cancers; Dr Ravi Patnaik, Consultant Oncologist, who spoke on colorectal cancers; Dr M Jeffri, Consultant Oncologist, with the topic of gynaecological cancers; Dr Lu Shir Kiong, Consultant Oncologist who spoke on advances in cancer management; Dr Jamsari, Radiation Consultant, with the topic of radiotherapy services; Dr Dawn Antony, neurosurgeon at PJSC, who spoke about neurosurgical intervention in brain tumours; Dr Hamid Naseer, Nuclear Medicine Consultant, who spoke on nuclear medicine imaging and treatment; and Dr Sanjay, Specialist Radiologist at Jerudong Park Medical Centre, who spoke on breast cancer imaging.
The purpose of the symposium was to increase awareness of common types of cancers, prevention, early detection and treatments available. Cancer is the number one killer in Brunei Darussalam for the past few years with cases increasing. There is a worrying trend of younger people being diagnosed with cancer, at an advanced stage. The common cancers diagnosed are colorectal cancers, breast cancers, lung cancers, prostate, stomach, lymphomas and nasopharynx.
Under His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Haji Omar ‘Ali Saifuddien Sa’adul Khairi Waddien, Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam’s Government, the Ministry of Health and PJSC are able to treat most of the cancers locally with surgical expertise, chemotherapy, radiotherapy and recently, nuclear medicine facilities.
Many facilities are the most modern equipment, in the hands of experienced specialists in their fields.
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