People should not rely on herbal medicine as a cure for cancer, says a general surgery and pediatric surgery specialist at the Colonial War Memorial Hospital.
Dr Josese Turagava made the statement as he revealed that of the 250 new cases recorded in a year for breast cancer, doctors operated on only 60 to 70 patients.
The rest come in when it is too late, he said.
“Most of them, when diagnosed, go here and there looking for herbal medicine for a year or two,” he said.
“By the time they come to us, it’s already late and it goes to the last stage.”
Speaking at the annual Bushells Fiji’s Biggest Morning Tea event at the Motibhai Group Suva office in Walu Bay yesterday, he stressed cancer could only be cured in the early stages.
“We can’t cure cancer at late stage,” he said.
“The best thing is that breast cancer is curable. We’ve got chemotherapy, we’ve got hormonal treatment, we’ve got surgery. But we can’t do anything when the patients come in very late.
“If you know anyone in the family, your loved ones having any sickness, encourage them to see the doctor. “Getting the treatment of cancer with herbal medicine in the village is just wasting time, you are basically delaying the treatment.”
Dr Turagava urged religious groups and social organisations to help in educating the public to get cancer treatment early. “People in America, Australia and New Zealand are not dying with breast cancer because they are cured very early with mammograms.”
