WHERE THERE IS NO ONCOLOGIST
A MANUAL OF PRACTICAL ONCOLOGY
IN RESOURCE-LIMITED SETTINGS
Kelechi Eguzo, MD 1
Chisara Umezurike, MD 1
Charlotte Jacobs, MD 3
Brian Camazine, MD 1,2
1 Nigerian
Christian Hospital
2 Earthwide
Surgical Foundation
3 Stanford University
School of Medicine
For several decades, I have been making pilgrimages to
the Nigerian Christian Hospital (NCH) on humanitarian surgical trips. As a
result of my interest and training in surgical oncology, an increasing number
of cancer cases have come under my care. Initially, these were approached
largely from the surgical aspects because few patients could afford
chemotherapy, and no physician had any specific interest in oncology. I could
perform surgery in a few weeks time but was unable to manage chemotherapy from
the USA.
Several years ago, a confluence of opportunities
arose. I began to take 3-4 trips per year to NCH rather than just one; I formed
a collaboration with Dr. Danny Milner, pathologist at Harvard’s Brigham and
Women’s Hospital; and, most importantly, I met a young, ambitious physician,
Dr. Kelechi Eguzo. At the time, many of
our cancer patients were being referred to teaching hospitals for chemotherapy.
I suggested to Dr. Kelechi that we stop this practice and deliver comprehensive
oncology care at NCH. Dr. Kelechi took the idea and ran with it. He contacted
many international oncologists, studied oncology on the internet and became a
self-made oncologist. Thus, the Nigerian Christian Hospital’s Oncology Service
was born!
Soon, we realized that the knowledge we were
acquiring would be helpful for practitioners in resource-limited environments
where residency trained oncologists are rare or non-existent. We decided to
write a hands-on manual so that a greater spectrum of practitioners could
deliver the basics of cancer care. Thus, Where
There is No Oncologist was born.
We hope this manual will continue to evolve with time
and be available to many practitioners. If you want a copy of the manual, email me and I will send it.
Brian Camazine, MD
General,
Thoracic, and Head and Neck Surgeon
Chief of Surgery, Nigerian Christian Hospital
