Last Saturday, well-known Singaporean
oncologist Ang Peng Tiam held court before 800 attendees in a ballroom of a
hotel in the Indonesian capital.
For
about two hours, Dr Ang talked about how cancer in the early stages may show no
symptoms, how even advanced cancer may still be curable, and about new
chemotherapy treatments that do not cause patients to lose their hair.
Dr Ang
is part of a wave of Singaporean specialist doctors from Parkway, Gleneagles
and others, who are travelling to give talks in Jakarta and other cities such
as Bandung in West Java. But local doctors, worried about losing business to
Singapore, said this amounts to practising in Indonesia without a medical
licence.
Dr Ang,
medical director and senior consultant at Parkway Cancer Centre, made it clear
during the talks that he was only giving general advice.
When
one attendee asked about dietary restrictions for a person undergoing
chemotherapy, he answered: "Eat and be happy." Dr Ang said he
encouraged his patients to consume as much nutrients as possible.
Hospitals
in Singapore and Malaysia are more expensive than in Indonesia.
For
example, a single room at Singapore's Mount Elizabeth Hospital costs S$578
(US$462) a day, while at the Metropolitan Medical Centre Hospital in Jakarta, a
similar room costs 1.5 million rupiah (US$163).
But
some Indonesian patients are willing to pay more for higher-quality care and
doctors who spend more time with them.
Patients
in Indonesia have often complained that doctors here do not give them enough
explanation about their treatment.
Neighbouring
city Bandung has had doctors from Singapore coming to town as well this past
year, an organiser told The Straits Times.
No one
is keeping an official count but there are certainly more foreign doctors
holding public seminars in Indonesia of late, including those from Malaysia,
according to Dr Slamet Budiarto, secretary-general of the Indonesian Doctors
Association (IDI).
More
Indonesians now go to hospitals in Penang as a cheaper alternative to Singapore
hospitals. Indonesians make up the bulk of foreign patients in Penang, with
patient numbers surging from 202,000 in 2009 to 250,000 in 2010, according to
the Penang government's website.
Lung
cancer survivors Barita Manulang, 61, and his wife - from Jakarta - had been
treated by Dr Ang, and they joined him at his recent Jakarta appearance to talk
about the experience. They encouraged others not to fear cancer, noting that some
patients easily lose hope or are in denial about their problem.
Dr Ang
showed slides of other success stories. After hearing about how the young son
of a vegetable seller from Batam had cancer in his testicle cured by Dr Ang,
the audience burst into spontaneous applause. The boy, whose testicle had
swollen to the size of a melon before treatment, was shown playing and sitting
on Dr Ang's lap at the clinic after he was declared free of cancer cells.
About a
quarter of Dr Ang's patients are Indonesians.
One
attendee in her early 40s, who identified herself only as Ms Leli, said she
found the talks useful. Ms Leli had a sister who died of breast cancer and she
herself has ovarian cysts.
But the
talks, Indonesian doctors said, are against the law as the Singapore doctors do
not have licences to practise in the country.
"If
a seminar is attended by fellow doctors, that is fine. But if the general
public is invited, then that is illegal," IDI's Dr Slamet told The Straits
Times.
Foreign
doctors who wish to practice in Indonesia must register with the Health
Ministry, must speak Bahasa Indonesia, and have a recommendation from their
home country's doctors' association. There were 108,132 registered medical
doctors in Indonesia in 2010, according to the government data.
Dr Ang
said Indonesian doctors should not feel threatened by his talks.
"Indonesia
is a huge country. There are more patients here than anybody can handle. We are
trained to look after patients to the best of our capability. Whoever can do the
job best is the best person for the patient."
Wahyudi
Soeriaatmadja
The
Straits Times
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