FIJIANS have been urged to stop waiting for pain and to check their bodies daily, as fear of a cancer diagnosis continues to push patients to present too late for treatment to save them.
Fiji Cancer Society palliative care co-ordinator Alumita Bera made the call during an interview yesterday as the society marked Pinktober.
Speaking on the challenges faced by patients, she said many arrived when the disease had already spread.
“One thing we find with patients coming into the hospital is that they come in too late,” Ms Bera said.
“They come in when the disease or cancer has already spread.”
Ms Bera, a retired registered nurse and midwife who looks after patients at home, said fear of a diagnosis being a death sentence kept patients away.
“When they come in late, they’re not giving the doctors the chance to really do the best they can for them.”
Ms Bera said cancer caused four different types of pains but only one could be fixed with medicine.
“For emotional pain, Panadol doesn’t work. They worry about who’s going to look after their family. Where’s the money going to come from.”
She said patients also carried social pain about what their village would say and spiritual pain questioning if God was punishing them, while caregivers provided care 24/7.
Ms Bera said gaps remained in early detection, follow-up after diagnosis, cost of drugs not on the free list, and broken machines and consumables that delayed diagnosis.
She encouraged all Fijians to know what was normal for their body and support awareness in their communities.
“If you know the normal, then you’ll be able to detect the abnormal. If you feel a lump, please come. When you decide about your life, please think about tomorrow, because what you choose to do today is going to affect you tomorrow.”
