Oasis Magazine - Cairns & Tropical North Queensland Issue 29 - Apr | May 2019 | Page 20

Hey boys . .
SHOW US YA GUTS
HUNDREDS of cancer patients will be diagnosed and
treated locally, thanks to a community campaign
headed by the Far North Queensland Hospital
Foundation
The Foundation’s “Show us ya guts” campaign follows
a call for specialised equipment from Cairns Hospital’s
endoscopy team.
The equipment will be for the diagnosis and treatment
of small bowel, pancreas, bile duct, oesophagus and
stomach ulcers, polyps and tumours.
Cairns Hospital director of medicine Dr Peter Boyd
said when the $409,000 worth of equipment arrives, it
will bring the endoscopy service to tertiary level
“practically overnight”.
The Foundation has been proactively working towards
the joint goal of bringing more sections of the hospital
to tertiary status, providing a higher level of specialty “They have some incredible clinicians here, including
an oesophageal expert from Saudi Arabia, one of only
care.
Dr Boyd said when the equipment arrives, he believes five nurse endoscopists in the state, and we want to
this will be the second hospital in Queensland to give them the equipment to treat more people, more
quickly,” Dr Chapman said.
provide this service.
“I’ve been working in endoscopy for 25 years, and I
Already significant donations of $47,000 and $75,000
believe once we start this service, the demand will
have been received towards the oesophageal
actually be four times what we think it is currently,” Dr
manometry, with numerous smaller amounts ranging
Boyd said.
from $20 to $1005 also donated.
Foundation chairman Dr Ken Chapman said for a
relatively small investment, hundreds of people would
be able to be diagnosed and treated locally, rather
than having to travel to Brisbane.
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