ALMOST 300 physicians, nurses and other allied health professionals from China, Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Philippines, Honolulu, California, Florida, Kauai, Palau, Chuuk, Saipan, Rota and New Zealand will be gathering together at the Pacific Cancer Conference this Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the Hyatt Regency.
The three-day conference is the first conference that is dedicated completely to cancer topics on Guam and in the region. Its aim is to provide insights to clinicians and researchers on cancer diagnosis, treatment, and new technologies.
The conference was set up by the Guam Medical Association and the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Featured are seminars on environmental carcinogens, cancer and depression, cancer incidence and mortality on Guam, latest research breakthroughs for cancer prevention and diagnosis, regenerative medicine, and talks on different types of cancer.
Dr. Tom Shieh, president of GMA, said the conference was organized because cancer affects everyone. “Everywhere you go on Guam, everyone you talk to has come across a family member or friend that is fighting cancer. So our association feels that it is time that we update our medical professionals and our local patients on the most updated protocols on prevention, early diagnosis and treatment, so that we can better help our own population here on-island,” he stated.
Cancer patients on Guam face many challenges, Dr. Shieh added. “When you tell a patient you have cancer, it is taken as if it is a death sentence. So that's the first challenge – to ensure patients that we can help them. Our doctors and nurses will join our patients and we will fight against this cancer to ensure that patients are not alone. The second challenge is financial resources to ensure that they have the treatment they need. The last challenge is to cure. We have to do a lot of education to really hammer it home that we can beat cancer and the best strategy is to make the diagnosis early and prevention by living a healthier lifestyle by avoiding alcohol and tobacco,” Shieh said.
