Fund raising drive for Khon Kaen breast cancer centre launched
Khon Kaen Hospital is to open the first breast cancer centre in the northeastern region with help from Wacoal and is launching a major drive to raise funds to purchase medical equipment for integrated treatment.
Unlike in Bangkok, people in the provinces are unable to access fully equipped medical facilities for effective, integrated treatment of illnesses. This is the case especially with breast cancer, now the most common cancer in Thai women.
To narrow the health divide between people in the capital and the provinces, a fundraising campaign has been organised to establish the first breast cancer centre at Khon Kaen Hospital.
The campaign is headed by Prof Dr Supakorn Rojananin, Chairman of Surgeons for All and President of the International College of Surgeons, Thailand Section, under the Royal Patronage of His Majesty the King, who has been mustering support from the public and private sectors in the hope of distributing advanced medical services to other regions of Thailand for the people’s well-being.
“We want Khon Kaen to be the first landmark in our success,” Dr Supakorn says.
Khon Kaen is the third most populated province in the northeast and has great potential for public health development, particularly in the field of breast cancer prevention led by Khon Kaen Hospital.
“The hospital has received admirable cooperation from the public and private sectors as well as from local people and it has been internationally acclaimed as a model medical institution for breast cancer prevention and treatment in the northeast. The new breast cancer centre at Khon Kaen Hospital is almost complete. After a long and continuous effort, the first one-stop breast cancer centre in the northeast is expected to open next year so that residents of the northeast will no longer need to go to Bangkok to receive breast cancer-related examination and treatment.”
Additional funding is still needed to acquire some medical equipment. The campaign has been supported by several private organisations, including ICC International Plc, distributor of Wacoal lingerie products; and its partner Thai Wacoal, which together have donated Bt15 million on behalf of their “Wacoal Pink Ribbon” breast cancer awareness campaign for the purchase of mammogram and breast ultrasound machines for the centre.
“We intend to make it an integrated centre for breast cancer-related treatment and education, with tasks ranging from primary prevention – educating the surrounding communities on the disease and health care – to treatment of terminal patients,” Dr Supakorn adds.
“We have worked closely with the general public, sending out teams to educate people on how to identify signs of breast cancer, how to perform breast self-exam, and how to avoid risks. Khon Kaen Hospital has held many breast cancer awareness activities, while encouraging north-eastern women of all ages at risk to receive regular breast checks.”
“Our goal is to elevate Khon Kaen Hospital to the centre of excellence in breast cancer treatment in the Northeast. This will not only help establish Thailand as the leader in breast cancer treatment and prevention in Southeast Asia, but our country will be an example of medical progress in this field for our neighbouring countries,” he says.
If the development of the breast cancer centre at Khon Kaen Hospital is successful, a similar centre will be created in the northern region through a collaboration between Chiangrai Prachanukroh Hospital and Mae Fah Luang University for the benefits and well-being of the people in that region.
The general public interested in donating for the purchase of medical equipment for the breast cancer centre at Khon Kaen Hospital should call (02) 716 5957 for more information.
