Many Fijians diagnosed with cancer often fight a devastating battle of life and death, including having to deal with the stigma from society.
The Fiji Cancer Society says they have had incidents where people had to secretly make their way to hospital in a taxi rather than an ambulance.
Chief Executive, Berlinda Chan says it’s important to consider the severity of some of these cases.
She says people need to talk about cancer more openly as it’s not a taboo issue.
“We’ve had a few patients where they pretty much worried about the concerns of their neighbours where we know they are unable to travel in the taxi so therefore we offer them the ambulance but because everyone will know that the ambulance there and when see an ambulance you know its associated with a sick person so they prefer that the taxi comes.”
Chan adds early detection is important, especially for women.
The Cancer Society is urging all women to visit their nearest health centres and hospitals to get screened for breast cancer and get medical attention if needed.
