Insight into Oncology

During our time as students in Cambodia, we were able to gain countless experiences in the pediatric intensive care units, the maternity ward, and also in surgery. Of course, there are many other wards in this hospital, and I would like to tell you a little more about one of them.

As of November, the oncology ward in Siem Reap is the hospital's newest department. It was officially opened on May 2 this year. The first patients were admitted to one of the 24 available beds at the end of the month. Previously, chemotherapy could not be offered at the hospital. Treatment was only available in expensive private clinics or in the distant capital. Even now, patients who need radiotherapy, i.e., radiation treatment, still have to be referred to the Kantha Bopha Hospital in Phnom Penh.

Over time, the ward filled up more and more, and now 21 young patients are being treated there. Providing accommodation is no small feat. Cancer treatments are often lengthy and exhausting, so children often stay in the ward for several weeks or even months. For the families, this means that their everyday lives are completely turned upside down. In most cases, the mothers, especially those with younger children, spend the day at the hospital. The family is responsible not only for the care but also for the nutrition of the child. The hospital supports the parents with a small “contribution” of 10,000 riel per day (approx. 2 Swiss francs).

I was touched to hear that parents often develop a kind of division of labor among themselves: for example, one mother cooks for several children at the same time while her own child is in the care of the other mothers. In addition, there is a dormitory directly above the ward where parents can spend the night.

The oncology ward team consists of three doctors and 17 nurses. Dr. Sok Heng, Dr. Kadinal, and Dr. Sovanndara previously worked for several years in various wards of the hospital as general practitioners until they were selected by Professor Chhun to help plan the new ward. This meant a major change in their daily work routine: suddenly, they were planning chemotherapy treatments according to complex protocols and performing bone marrow punctures. Despite this rapid change and intensive retraining in a very short time, they quickly got used to their new daily routine; all three say that they have come to really appreciate the work on the ward.

Of course, they don't work alone. The team of 17 nurses supports the medical team on a daily basis: administering IVs, keeping regular records, and sometimes in quite unexpected ways: Roat, one of the nurses, is a gifted singer and guitarist (a talent that even took him to the finals of Cambodia's Got Talent in 2018). As soon as the morning rush is over and things calm down a bit in the afternoon, the ward is transformed: child-friendly chairs and tables are set up in the center, and the children paint and play. But it's never really complete until Roat gets out his guitar and puts on a little concert for the children. He not only sings traditional Cambodian songs (which are very popular with the children and encourage many to sing along), but also songs by his favorite artist, Bruno Mars. I had to smile when I saw how the pages of his notebook were divided between oncology procedures and song lyrics with guitar chords.

It's details like these that make the experience in this hospital so unique. And I hope Beat Richner would be proud of his legacy, which lives on in oncology in a slightly different form.

Best regards from Siem Reap

Jason