Past to present history
(1970 – 1979)
The very first PNG services were established in 1970 with the therapy and technical support of the Queensland Radium Institute (QRI is now part of Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital). After considerable work deciding the location and design facilities, the services were installed in Lae and began treatment in 1972 with a Cobalt-60 treatment unit, a simulator, superficial X-ray unit (1974) and eventually gynaecological low-dose-radiotherapy (LDR brachytherapy) using caesium-137 sources donated by QRI.
(1979 -1989)
The responsibility of seconding radiation therapists, training the local staff and providing annual physics safety and calibrations transferred to Prince of Wales Hospital, Sydney from 1979 to 1989.
(1989 – 1998)
The Lae radiation therapy services continued with local radiation therapy staff and UK radiation oncology specialist, Dr Niblett. But, by 1989, the situation had seriously deteriorated when Dr Niblett left and took up an appointment at the Perth Medical Centre, Institute of Radiotherapy. The Telecobalt C0-60 unit broke down after that and there were no funds to purchase a replacement radioactive cobalt-60 source for it either.
(2000 – 2009)
Without the services of a resident Lae radiation oncologist or any expert medical physics support, radiation therapy services for any PNG cancer sufferers and the local staff were left in limbo for 9 years with no patients to treat.
(2009 – From voluntary donations received from Australia, engagement of voluntary medical physics support by the Asia-Pacific Special Interest Group (APSIG, the Australasian College of
Physical Sciences and Engineers in Medicine) and installation offered by the telecobalt-60 company agent, a new co-60 was installed, and treatment services once more began.
APSIG continued to provide the physics backup, even though there were significant shortcomings in the standard of the equipment that needed resolving, local staff were once again treating, but there were significant difficulties in the employment of a suitably experienced radiation oncologist when Dr Niblett (who returned to Lae in 2009) died in 2018. Sadly, no patients have received treatment in Lae since 2017 and the telecobalt-60 unit is non-operational.
The coming of a new PNG cancer patient era using modern radiation therapy services
In recognition of its technical support history to the Lae cancer centre, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) invited APSIG to assess PNG’s readiness and ability to comply with IAEA radiation safety and regulatory requirements necessary to receive a new Co-60 source. It included assessing the existing radiotherapy activities located at ANGAU hospital and recommending what could be done in the interim until a new Co-60 source arrived.
Following on from this, the IAEA requested that Simon Downes (APSIG Chair) be included in the team assessing the establishment of another cancer centre at Port Moresby General Hospital. As for other countries, the IAEA mission provided Downes the opportunity to meet hospital staff and establish stronger links with stake holders including RANZCR Radiation Oncologists and ASMIRT Radiation Therapists who were wanting to support the new Port Moresby cancer centre as well.
The new Port Moresby radiation therapy treatment centre.
The building of the centre is well underway (Figure 2. and 3.), and the first treatment machine is a Varian Halcyon linear accelerator, due for the first patient treatment by August 2023.
As part of this major project, APSIG has received a global education grant from the Varian foundation for certified radiation oncology medical physicists to provide three PNG physicists training and education exercises remotely plus hand-on training during a New Zealand linear accelerator commissioning.
Figure 2 and 3. Show that the size of new Port Moresby cancer centre is comparable to the size of the front wing of the hospital itself! It’s expected to get bigger with the 80 m2 brachytherapy bunker room to be added to the side.
Even after the Port Moresby opening occurs in August 2023, APSIG will need to have further funding to provide on-going support, technical oversight and advice to their resident medical physics staff.
Exciting times!
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To read the personal experiences of Dr Lyn Oliver’s first voluntary work visit, then click on:
Working – But Not at Work, ANGAU Hospital, PNG (1980 -2010)
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If you would like to support the APSIG cause, then click here:
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