The Port Moresby General Hospital is living up to its brand: the National Specialist Referral and Teaching Hospital.

And that, the hospital management and the board has announced that it will be offering breast cancer screening services to the women of Papua New Guinea soon after the installation of a mammogram at the Radiology Department late last month.

The installation of the mammogram marks another milestone for Port Moresby General Hospital in achieving the objective of providing cancer care to our patients.

The refurbishment of mammogram room and installation of the mammogram was made possible through the support of Kumul Petroleum Holdings Limited (KPHL), Ok Tedi Mining Limited (OTML), National Department of Health (NDoH) and Public Investment Program (PIP) through the Department of National Planning and Monitoring (DNPM).

CEO Dr Paki Molumi said in a media statement that Port Moresby General Hospital is firm in its role to reduce cancer deaths in Papua New Guinea and with the continual development of its impact project, the Modern Cancer Centre, this will be achievable.

The construction of the Modern Cancer Centre is progressing well on schedule through the support from Kumul Petroleum Holdings Limited (KPHL) and Public Investment Program (PIP) funding from the Department of National Planning and Monitoring and is expected to be completed towards the end of 2023.

“The Modern Cancer Centre will be a “one-stop shop” for cancer care for the country through a holistic approach to move away from the current fragmented cancer care services we have been offering to our people over the last 45 years,” said Dr Molumi.

The Cancer Centre will have the capacity to cater for:
1. Prevention and early diagnosis programs;
2. Molecular screening for cancer;
3. Adequately resourced Histopathology and Immunohistochemistry laboratory for diagnosis of all cancers;
4. Chemotherapy Services;
5. Radiotherapy services delivered through two (2) of the latest Linear Accelerators and a Brachytherapy Unit for Cervical Cancer treatment; and,
6. A Nuclear Medicine Department with Positron Pmission Tomography (PET) scan for both cancer and non-cancer diagnosis, cancer treatment and cancer treatment monitoring.

“While construction of the Modern Cancer Centre is progressing, to ensure that the facility is functional, Port Moresby General Hospital is now preparing its human resource, developing training curriculum and importantly creating a Cancer Registry for the country which Papua New Guinea currently does not have.

“The statistics from the Cancer Registry will form the basis of cancer infrastructure and human resource development and cancer care planning for the country,” he said.

The Modern Cancer Centre will have a teaching and research facility aligned to the School of Medicine and Health Sciences under the University of Papua New Guinea (UPNG) for human resource development.

“A high return on investment is expected through the PMGH Cancer Centre by reducing cancer deaths and prolonging life expectancy of our citizens to continue to contribute to our country’s economy. Additionally the Modern Cancer Centre will create the opportunity for medical tourism, research and training,” he said.