Cancer Clinic gets $4.5m facility

By Lanuola Tusani Tupufia 10 June 2016, 12:00AM

The $4.5million headquarters of the Samoa Land Corporation (S.L.C) at Tuana’imato will soon become the home of the Hope 4 Cancer Clinic. 

This was revealed by Prime Minister, Tuilaepa Sa’ilele Malielegaoi, to the media yesterday, shortly after Cabinet had endorsed the plan. 

 “They requested for the three storey building to start up the Clinic,” he said. “I have sent out a letter today to inform (parties) that the request has been approved and to allow the facility to be used for the clinic in Samoa to accommodate people with cancer.”

Last month, the Medical Director of the Hope 4 Cancer Institute in Mexico, Dr Antonio Jimenez, met with the Minister of Health and local officials about their plans.

Dr. Jimenez said their mission in Samoa is to establish a Hope 4 Cancer Center to attract medical tourism. 

“We will find and enable solutions for the Chronic Health Challenges facing the Samoan population and we will treat Samoan cancer patients locally to avoid travel to other countries for ineffective treatments,” he said. 

Dr. Jimenez said they chose Samoa because of the strategic, geographical location close to Australia, Asia and Africa.

“Not only that but Samoa’s low cost of living will make travel to Samoa more attractive than to other countries, because the cost of saving is the primary reason for the medical tourism choices of 70% patients. Also because of the government support and the favourable regulation environment, it will allow us to provide the best possible treatments.”

The medical practitioner said the benefits of medical tourism for Samoa will generate employment at the clinic where they will need local Samoans at varying levels of expertise.

“Our goal is to use the local Samoan workforce to the greatest extent possible,” he said

“We also treat chronic diseases for example diabetes and high risk patients preventatively.”

  At the time, the Prime Minister said government was looking for a permanent place near the beach for the clinic.

 “These doctors from the United States of America are here with the hope to set up a clinic here in Samoa that will treat all illnesses especially cancer by using different kinds of treatment rather than letting the patient go through chemo and radiation,” he said.

“This group is highly recommending healthy eating and natural healing, like us here in Samoa.

“There are a lot of cancer patients who don’t want to go through the normal treatment of cancer like chemo and radiation but they would gladly go through what these doctors are bringing on the table.

“The reason why they want to setup a clinic here in Samoa is because most of their patients are from New Zealand and Australia and so it would be easier for these patients to travel to Samoa rather than spending a lot of money going to America which is expensive.”

Tuilaepa said even the patients they don’t want to go through the hard treatment but rather take these treatments that are much easier and less painful.

He added that these doctors are well trained and have many years of experience and had patients who have recovered from cancer because of natural treatments.

“From my point of view this will benefit Samoa in many ways; not only that there will be a lot of patients who will travel here but in the side of our tourist industry,” he said.

“The government won’t have to spend millions and millions in sending patients overseas but they will be treated here.”

By Lanuola Tusani Tupufia 10 June 2016, 12:00AM
Samoa Observer

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