A FORMER Fiji citizen who has made a name for himself in the medical field in New Zealand has a vision to set up a breast cancer foundation to assist women in early detection.
Cardiothoracic surgeon Dr Parma Nand said he hoped to achieve the same success as the Friends of Fiji Heart Foundation, which he founded in 2006.
He said he wanted to work with local practitioners in setting up the breast cancer foundation.
“There isn’t a well-established breast cancer foundation in Fiji at the moment,” he said.
“We know that breast cancer is the gold medal winner for the biggest killer for females in Fiji.
“If you look at WHO data, Fiji sits right up there.
“I think we can use the help of some female practitioners and anyone that would like to assist us.
“This will enable the education of women in Fiji and therefore, will allow early detection of breast cancer.”
Dr Nand said he recently reacquired his Fijian citizenship which has fuelled his work to help Fijians in need of urgent medical care.
“For those who don’t know, I’ve been away from Fiji for approximately 30 years and I’ve recently reacquired my Fiji citizenship and I do have a feeling to give back to the people of Fiji.
“I have a couple more ideas or visions that I want to turn into a reality that I hope that our colleagues would be able to help me with and also Government which has been very supportive of our work.
“I have done a proposal to the Fijian Government to come and serve and provide our services to pulmonary artery surgery at the CWM Hospital perhaps six times a year.
“I hope that will come to fruition but if it doesn’t I will not stop there.”
Dr Nand is part of a group of New Zealand-based doctors that established a state-of-the-art cardiac care facility – Heart International – in Nadi.
