Providing Hope for Cancer Patients

Article Summary:
Calibre – September 2021

When Covid-19 swept across the world, like everyone else, Dr Junie Khoo, an oncologist at Beacon Hospital, found her whole work life tipped upside down. Face masks, temperature checking, and all the usual precautions soon became the new normal.

Dr Khoo spends lots of her time presenting patients with the pros and cons of each treatment option—radiotherapy, chemotherapy, targeted therapy, immunotherapy, and even clinical trials. She tries her best to preserve the quality of life of the patients while effectively combatting cancer.

“It’s disheartening to see patients fearful about coming for treatment due to the pandemic,” she says. “Only to have their cancer progressed to advanced stages that limits their survival and livelihood.”

She urges people not to hesitate coming to the clinic because the consequences of delaying much-needed cancer treatment could be far more gruesome.

“The best reward as an oncologist is seeing my patients get better,” she shares. “We may not win the battle against cancer all the time; but with the introduction of newer treatments like immunotherapy and targeted therapy, we are gaining much longer survival time without the cost of compromising the quality of life.”

For full article, source: Calibre