• RICHARD T. CABALLERO JR.
With the absence of radiotherapy treatments in the newly built Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital (CLMMRH) Cancer Care Center, the center has collaborated with the Riverside Medical Center Inc. (RMCI) to cater to outpatients that are in need of such services, Medical Center Chief II Dr. Joan Cerrada disclosed on Wednesday, during the inauguration of the first cancer care center in the Negros Island Region.
On July 23 this year, the CLMMRH and RMCI renewed their Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) to expand radiation therapy services for cancer patients who were under the care of cancer center.
Cancer Care Center Nurse Supervisor John Phillip Rollo said that the recently signed MOA will cover all types of cancer patients, unlike the prior agreement in the past years that only covered breast cancer.
He also noted that at least 108 breast cancer patients had already been referred to Riverside for radiation therapy treatments.
“Basically, these patients will come to us, then we will refer them to Riverside, but CLMMRH will pay for the therapy,” Rollo stressed.
Equipped with new technology and infrastructure, the center will begin operations on August 26 and can cater to 40 outpatients per day, composed of pediatric and adult cancer patients who are in need of chemotherapy treatment. Patients must have an appointment prior to the schedule, as the center will not cater to walk-ins.
The center is equipped to deliver IV chemotherapy, bone marrow biopsies, lumbar punctures, intrathecal chemotherapy, child life services, and seamless referral to radiotherapy.
Rollo added that the center is not only for those who have already been diagnosed, but it is also open for consultations.
“We will be allotting 15 consultations every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday,” he said.
The center, which has at least 15 specialized personnel, will only cater to short course treatments, and cannot accommodate admissions as of the moment.
“We are affiliated with the Philippine Cancer Center and the Philippine Children’s Medical Center to train our staff and nurses to be oncology nurses to handle specialized procedures and medications,” he stressed.
Rollo disclosed that in the long run, they aim to cater admissions, once the facility has been expanded.
Bacolod City Mayor Greg Gasataya said in an interview that there is a possibility that the center will be expanded to cater to more patients.
“If the national government later on will have available funds, the center is open for expansion; we can make it a three or four-story building,” Gasataya said.*
