NEW YORK (AFP) – Apple announced updates to AirTag coin-sized tracking devices to prevent them from being used to secretly track people instead of just finding lost keys, wallets or other items.
Launched early last year, AirTags are designed to be affixed to things people tend to lose, synching wirelessly to iPhones, iPads or iPod Touch devices to signal where they can be found. Reports quickly surfaced of AirTags being used for more unscrupulous ends, such as being secretly stuck on a car to later steal it or find out where the owner goes.
“We’ve become aware that individuals can receive unwanted tracking alerts for benign reasons, such as when borrowing someone’s keys with an AirTag attached,” Apple said in a post.
“We also have seen reports of bad actors attempting to misuse AirTag for malicious or criminal purposes.”
Apple said that it has been working with police and safety groups to stop misuse, which it maintained is rare.
The Apple Store at Fifth Avenue in New York City. PHOTO: AFP
Newer iPhone models will alert owners of an “unknown accessory detected” when they sense an unidentified AirTag in range.
AirTag software is being updated to display a warning the first time it is used, advising that tracking people without their consent is a crime in many locales and Apple will share the identities of owners with police when warranted.
Apple said it is working on enabling iPhones to more precisely locate AirTags to help people find any planted without their consent.
“AirTag was designed to help people locate their personal belongings, not to track people or another person’s property,” Apple said in the post.
“We condemn in the strongest possible terms any malicious use of our products.”
Apple late last year released software so people with Android-powered smartphones can detect if an AirTag is nearby.
YANQING, CHINA (AFP) – Switzerland’s Lara Gut-Behrami added Olympic super-G gold to her world title at the Beijing Games yesterday as a relieved Mikaela Shiffrin finished ninth after flunking her first two events.
The 30-year-old Gut-Behrami, who has already won giant slalom bronze at these Games, timed one minute, 13.51 seconds for victory and the first Olympic gold medal of her career. It was also a first-ever super-G gold for Switzerland.
Austrian Mirjam Puchner took silver 0.22 seconds behind while another Swiss, 2018 Olympic combined gold medallist Michelle Gisin, claimed bronze.
“I had no strategy at all, I just tried to ski,” said Gut-Behrami, who finished fourth in super-G at two previous Olympics.
“I love super-G, I told myself it’s not a different course to lots I have skied before.
“It was a tight race and after finishing fourth twice in the super-G, I was just hoping it didn’t happen again this time!”
Lara Gut-Behrami in action during the women’s super-G at the 2022 Winter Olympics. PHOTO: AP
Shiffrin, a double gold medallist in previous Games, struggled between the first two intermediaries and eventually came racing through the finish line 0.79 seconds off winner Gut-Behrami’s pace.
It was the first time the American ski star had finished a race at these Games after she produced two unusual mistakes in the slalom and giant slalom this week, skiing out early in both.
“There was nothing sad about today, it’s really solid skiing and everything was pretty much on point,” said an upbeat Shiffrin, one of the biggest names at the Games.
“It’s a really big relief to be here now in the finish… that’s really nice for my heart to know that it’s not totally abandoning everything I know about the sport.”
Reigning super-G champion Ester Ledecka, the cross-code star who successfully defended her snowboard parallel giant slalom title on Tuesday, came fifth, behind Austrian Tamara Tippler.
Gut-Behrami laid down a superb top section which saw the racers accelerate to 100 kilometres per hour within eight seconds and move straight into a testing series of jumps swinging into blind gates.
It was the first time the women had experienced the ‘Rock’ piste because two World Cup races on the hill were cancelled over Covid restrictions in China.
And it showed as many struggled with the upper section before cascading into the canyon snaking down the rest of the 1.9-kilometre course, man-made with artificial snow in Yanqing.
Ledecka became the first woman to win a gold medal in two different sports at a Winter Olympics when she took skiing and snowboarding titles in Pyeongchang four years ago.
The Ministry of Defence (MinDef) and the Royal Brunei Armed Forces (RBAF) held a Khatam Al-Quran ceremony yesterday in conjunction with the RBAF 60th Diamond Jubilee Anniversary Celebration.
The event’s main focus was at Surau Al-Fa’izun, Berakas Garrison, with other MinDef and RBAF suraus in all four districts, and the Pulau Baru-Baru Mosque, taking part simultaneously.
Minister of Defence II Pehin Datu Lailaraja Major General (Rtd) Dato Paduka Seri Haji Awang Halbi bin Haji Mohd Yussof; Commander of the RBAF Major General (U) Dato Seri Pahlawan Haji Hamzah bin Haji Sahat, and the senior leadership of RBAF units, as well as officers and personnel from MinDef and
RBAF attended. Representatives from the Royal Brunei Police Force, Royal Customs and Excise Department, Fire and Rescue Department, Immigration and National Registration Department, District Offices, Penghulus and Village Heads also attended.
The event was intended to instill love towards Al-Quran and to encourage personnel to incorporate Al-Quran in daily life and uphold aspirations for Brunei Darussalam to be a Zikir nation.
The event used the Mushaf Al-Quran Al-Karim and its translation (pic right), published in conjunction with the RBAF’s 60th Diamond Jubilee.
Minister of Defence II Pehin Datu Lailaraja Major General (Rtd) Dato Paduka Seri Haji Awang Halbi bin Haji Mohd Yussof, Commander of the Royal Brunei Armed Forces (RBAF) Major General (U) Dato Seri Pahlawan Haji Hamzah bin Haji Sahat, and senior officials of RBAF units yesterday attended a Khatam Al-Quran held in conjunction with the RBAF 60th Diamond Jubilee Anniversary at Surau Al-Fa’izun, Berakas Garrison.ABOVE & BELOW: Personnel from RBAF attend a Khatam Al-Quran to mark the RBAF 60th anniversary. PHOTOS: RBAF
BERLIN (AP) – Germany’s Constitutional Court has refused to temporarily block the implementation of a coronavirus vaccine mandate for care and health workers that is due to come into force in mid-March.
The country’s top court said yesterday that it had rejected a bid to impose an injunction against the measure until a legal challenge against its constitutionality is formally reviewed.
The Karlsruhe-based court received dozens of complaints after Parliament approved the measure late last year.
Staff in nursing homes, hospitals and doctors’ practices, physiotherapists and midwives have to prove by March 15 that they have been vaccinated against COVID-19. Those who fail to do so can be banned from working, to prevent vulnerable people from being infected by unvaccinated staff.
Lawmakers from the three governing parties yesterday also presented a first proposal for a universal vaccine mandate.
The plan would require all adults in Germany to show upon request from October 1 that they have received three vaccinations or recovered from COVID-19. Medical exemptions would be possible; the law would need to be reviewed every three months and automatically expire at the end of 2023.
A sign reading ‘no to compulsory vaccination’ at a protest rally in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin. PHOTO: AP
THE WASHINGTON POST – When I opened Brendan Slocumb’s debut novel The Violin Conspiracy, I was immediately transported to a place I’d never been, surrounded by characters I’d never met. In the crowded world of fiction, that’s no small accomplishment.
Taking inspiration from his day job as a music teacher, Slocumb has orchestrated an engaging and suspenseful story about an aspiring musician and his great-great-grandfather’s violin.
Rayquan (who prefers to be called Ray) McMillian is a senior in high school with lofty aspirations. His mother, who doesn’t understand her son’s obsession with “that fiddle”, wants him to graduate early so he can get a job to help pay the bills. “You could have been making good money at Popeyes by now,” she tells him. But Ray loves playing the violin, and he plays it well. If Ray were a White teenager, he’d be considered a prodigy, but most people do not take this young Black violinist seriously.
In the beginning, there is only one person who believes in Ray – his Grandma Nora who delights in her favourite grandchild’s musical gift. She encourages Ray to follow his passion because she understands it.
“You know my PopPop used to play fiddle, don’t you? I loved hearing him when I was a little girl,” she tells her grandson. “That’s where you get your talent from.”
Nora’s grandfather, PopPop, was an enslaved man who played the fiddle for his enslaver, Thomas Marks. “He knew playing that fiddle kept him and his family alive, baby,” Nora tells Ray. Once PopPop was set free, Marks gave him the fiddle.
Since then, the instrument has been passed down through the generations though never used. But maybe, Nora thinks, that could change: She finds the instrument in the attic and presents it to Ray.
The young man knows he has been given a treasure, even if it is a filthy mess with cracked and missing and warped pieces. Ray finds a way to restore it, and the instrument becomes his companion on a journey to becoming a classically trained violinist who performs around the country but doesn’t miss the chance to blast Eric B & Rakim when he’s riding in his car alone. The trouble begins when Ray starts making the auditioning rounds and considers upgrading his violin only to discover that PopPop’s was no ordinary fiddle. It’s an 18th-Century Stradivarius worth about USD10 million.
Ray becomes a sensation (thanks in large part to his violin), especially when he decides to compete in the Tchaikovsky Competition, one of the most prestigious classical music tournaments. For two years, Ray does little more than tour and practice in preparation; his greatest desire is to become the first American to win in his category. It would be a major accomplishment. Never before has there been someone like Rayquan McMillian – a young Black American man with a Stradivarius violin standing on the world stage.
Then, two weeks before the competition, Ray opens his violin case to find only a white Chuck Taylor sneaker and a ransom note.
The police and FBI are brought in, but where should Ray and the authorities begin? With Ray’s family, who’ve been trying to cash in on the fiddle ever since its real value was discovered? Or with members of the Marks family, enslavers’ descendants who now claim the violin belongs to them? Everyone is a suspect, and the clock is ticking.
The Violin Conspiracy is so wonderfully written, especially its descriptions of music, that at times I questioned whether I was reading or listening to a concert; the notes in Bach’s Chaconne or Mozart’s Violin Sonata No 21 in E Minor practically floated up from the pages.
Slocumb is equally adept at suspense, whether he’s conveying the ticktock of the main mystery or the heart-pounding, fist-clenching realities Ray has to face as a young Black man in America. This novel, which will keep readers on the edge of their seats until the very last page, is sure to be a favourite in 2022.
LONDON (CNA) – Britain’s competition regulator said yesterday it had accepted a revised offer from Google of commitments relating to its plan to ban third-party cookies that advertisers use to track consumers.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has been investigating Google’s plan to cut support for some cookies in Chrome – an initiative called the “Privacy Sandbox” – because the watchdog is worried it will impede competition in digital advertising.
Alphabet Inc’s Google has said its users want more privacy when they are browsing the web, including not being tracked across sites. Other players in the USD250 billion global digital ad sector, however, have said the loss of cookies in the world’s most popular browser will limit their ability to collect information for personalising ads and make them more reliant on Google’s user databases.
The CMA said it has now secured legally binding commitments from Google to address its concerns.
They include involvement of the CMA and the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) in the development and testing of the Privacy Sandbox proposals, to ensure they achieve effective outcomes for consumers.
A Google office at Coal Drops Yard, Stable Street in London, United Kingdom
The CMA said Google has agreed to engage in a more transparent process than initially proposed, including engagement with third parties and publishing test results, with the option for the CMA to require Google to address issues raised by the CMA or third parties.
Google has pledged not to remove third-party cookies until the CMA is satisfied its competition concerns have been addressed.
Google has also committed to restrict the sharing of data within its ecosystem to ensure that it doesn’t gain an advantage over competitors when third-party cookies are removed.
“The commitments we have obtained from Google will promote competition, help to protect the ability of online publishers to raise money through advertising and safeguard users’ privacy,” said CMA CEO Andrea Coscelli.
“We now move into a new phase where we will keep a close eye on Google as it continues to develop these proposals.”
Google said in a blog it was pleased the CMA has accepted its commitments.
ZHANGJIAKOU, CHINA (AP) – Iivo Niskanen (AFP pic above) of Finland won gold in the 15-kilometre cross country race at the Beijing Olympics yesterday to maintain his dominance in classic skiing.
Niskanen crossed the line and collapsed, spread eagle, with a time of 37 minutes, 54.8 seconds. It was his third Olympic gold. He won the 50km classic race in Pyeongchang and the classic team sprint at the 2014 Sochi Games.
Alexander Bolshunov of Russia came in 23.2 seconds back to earn silver, while Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo of Norway secured the bronze 37.5 seconds behind the Finn.
Both Bolshunov and Klaebo have won gold medals at the Beijing Olympics – Bolshunov in the skiathlon and Klaebo in the sprint.
Niskanen had a 28.8-second lead over Bolshunov at the 10.5km mark and was 52.5 seconds faster than Klaebo at that point in the race, and he held it to the finish.
Niskanen’s sister, Kerttu, won the silver medal Thursday in the women’s 10-kilometre classic race, finishing just 0.4 seconds behind Theresa Johaug of Norway.
Niskanen and Bolshunov had led the classic ski portion of the skiathlon, the opening cross-country race of the Beijing Olympics, but Bolshunov and Denis Spitzov skied away from Niskanen when the race switched to freestyle skiing. Spitzov took the silver and Niskanen bronze.
CARACAS, VENEZUELA (AP) – The Venezuelan opposition was re-energised recently by an unexpected gubernatorial victory in the home state of the late President Hugo Chavez.
Now it is trying to use that momentum to bring its divided factions together and launch yet another attempt to topple his political heirs.
Three years after he proclaimed himself the legitimate leader of Venezuela, Juan Guaidó, his United States (US)-backed opposition allies and other adversaries of President Nicolas Maduro will convene this week in the capital, Caracas, to work on a big-tent strategy as they gear up for a presidential election they hope may be held before its scheduled 2024 date.
The goal is to consider how to “incorporate not only the political parties that make up the democratic alternative but also former Chavismo supporters, as one group is called, or Chavismo dissidents, as another group is also called”, Guaidó told The Associated Press in an interview on Thursday, using the Spanish-language term for the political movement begun by Chavez, who died in 2013.
Guaidó rose to international prominence in 2019 when he declared Maduro’s presidency illegitimate and himself acting president, establishing a parallel government.
Opposition leader Juan Guaido speaks during an interview in Caracas, Venezuela. PHOTO: AP
He was recognised as leader by dozens of countries, including the US, and led large protests in Caracas. But the enthusiasm and support he saw three years ago has waned both abroad and at home, in part because the pandemic kept people from organising and protesting, as well as a perceived sense that the opposition’s promise to do away with Chavismo remains elusive.
Opposition candidates garnered the most votes in the November regional elections. But unable to line up behind consensus candidates, they split the anti-Maduro vote – enabling his United Socialist Party of Venezuela to take more than 200 of 322 municipalities and most governor’s races.
So that result was seen as both a sign of the opposition’s high potential and, Guaidó said, a “wake-up call” to a desperate need to strengthen unity.
One race where the opposition did succeed gave them particular reason for optimism: They shocked the ruling party by winning the governorship in the northwestern state of Barinas, where the Chavez family had governed for more than two decades.
In addition to the upcoming meetings in Caracas, Guaidó and other leaders from across the country are holding a rally today to present their unity plan to Venezuelans – though getting the message out remains a challenge given the state’s domination of local media.
“For us, doing politics today in Venezuela is like doing politics in any country 100 years ago,” Guaidó said.
Wong Shia Yen and Kamal Hassan Bin Haji Metuddin, each won a brand new Toyota Wigo in the Digital World Enterprise’s ‘Lucky Draw of the Year’ campaign organised in collaboration with NBT Sdn Bhd.
The winners’ name were drawn by Interhouse Company General Manager Steven Goh and witnessed by Nabilah Zainal Abidin from Yusof Halim and Partners.
The draw was also live streamed on Digital World’s Instagram.
Kamal Hassan, when contacted on the live stream and was informed of the win, said he and his wife were ecstatic, The couple thanked Digital World for organising the campaign.
Meanwhile another 10 winners received consolation prizes.
Five winners each took home a Samsung A02 series mobile phone.
Another five each won Samsung M02 series mobile phone.
The ‘Lucky draw of the Year’ campaign started on July 25 and ended yesterday.
Before concluding the ceremony, Goh unveiled the car of the next Lucky Draw of the Year which is another Toyota Wigo.
The campaign started yesterday and will end on April 31.
ABOVE & BELOW: Interhouse Company General Manager Steven Goh drawing the winners and; unveiling the prize for the next Digital World Enterprise lucky draw campaign. PHOTO: JAMES KON
Contributed by The Brunei Cancer Centre (TBCC) of Pantai Jerudong Specialist Centre (PJSC), Consultant Radiation Oncologist Dr Vedapriya Ramamurthy, Medical Officer Dr Nur Sabrina Khadijah binti Mohd Sabri & Medical Officer Dr Appalasamy Narasamuloo
World Cancer Day is an annual international event that takes place on February 4.
It serves as a reminder to all of us to recognise cancer as one of our major medical and health issues.
WHY DO WE HAVE WORLDCANCER DAY?
We can create awareness to help people understand cancer, reduce fear, debunk myths and misconceptions, and alter behaviours and attitudes by addressing the fact that cancer affects many more people than HIV, Malaria, and Tuberculosis combined.
This could make it so much easier for patients to report early, which may improve their chances of survival in certain cancers.
World Cancer Day is led by the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) that unites and supports the cancer community to reduce the global cancer burden, to promote greater equity and ensure cancer control the world over.
As per UICC, one third of cancer cases can be prevented. Another third can be cured if detected early and treated properly.
Brunei Darussalam is one of the proud members of UICC and has been actively engaged in the promotion of World Cancer Day for many years. The theme designated for World Cancer Day for 2022 to 2024 is ‘Close The Care Gap’.
Pantai Jerudong Specialist Centre (PJSC) collaborates with Guerrilla Artchitect Studio to create a two-sided Graffiti Art Mural based on the ‘Close the care gap’ theme. One side of the wall (above) showcases Guerrilla Artchitect’s interpretation of World Cancer Day and the other side (below) is an artwork made with contributions and ideas from cancer patients and survivors. PHOTOS:PJSC
The first year of the ‘Close the Care Gap’ initiative is centred on recognising and analysing cancer care inequalities throughout the world. The care gap results in the differences in cancer outcomes between countries.
The care gap is also present within a country in terms of cancer outcomes in individuals based on income status, level of education, ethnicity, social background, sex, age and address of abode.
There are numerous studies in many countries, rich and poor, which support the differences in cancer patient outcomes and care based on the aforementioned parameters.
In Brunei Darussalam, the care gap can be divided into multiple levels like prevention, screening, diagnosis, treatment, and post treatment care of cancer patients.
In this article, we will touch on cancer prevention, screening and treatment.
Public awareness campaigns to follow a healthy lifestyle and avoidance of tobacco smoking are conducted regularly in Brunei Darussalam.
Despite such intensive programmes by the Ministry of Health (MoH) through the Health Promotion Programme over the years, there remains a significant proportion of Brunei population who are overweight or obese and many still smoking.
A recent study showed that despite banning of tobacco sales since 2005, 36 per cent of adult males in Brunei still smoke with a smaller proportion of women (four per cent) doing the same.
The obesity rate among the public is increasing and is also noted in children over the
last decade.
PREVENTION IS BEST
A healthy lifestyle is key to good health. Regular exercise combined with a diet rich in greens and fruits and low in fats and cholesterol, as well as keeping a healthy weight, has been shown to lower the risk of numerous illnesses, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer.
Studies have proven that persons who stopped smoking will reduce their risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer to risk levels of persons who have never smoked after 10 to 15 years.
All individuals in Brunei have a lifetime risk for developing cancers. For men, there is a one in four chance of developing cancer and for women, it is higher at one in three.
An observation in the past 10 years is that the rate of overweight and obesity has increased over the past decade with certain related cancers increasing in tandem.
In Brunei Darussalam, there are initiatives to improve the level of exercise among the public with events like walkathons, running or cycling events or Bandarku Ceria (and in the other major towns and districts), the availability of numerous nature walks, and gymnasiums available to the paying public.
Many people, however, do not devote enough time to regular exercise, claiming a lack of time, being too busy with work or family, or a lack of motivation as reasons.
Lack of time due to work or family obligations, lack of enthusiasm, or lack of facilities are all frequent reasons for not exercising regularly.
Regular workouts can be as little as 30 minutes for five times a week and can be done from the convenience of your own home.
Obesity and overweight are defined as excess body fat to the extent it has negative impact
on health.
Obesity is defined as having a body mass index (BMI) of more than 30kg per square metre and overweight is defined as having a BMI of 25 to 30kg/m2. Both overweight and obesity (especially) are related to numerous cancers including cancers of the uterus (womb), oesophagus (gullet), breast (postmenopausal), bowel, liver, pancreas, and kidneys.
An obese woman with a BMI of 40 or more compared to a woman with normal BMI has an eight fold greater risk of developing uterine cancer!
In Brunei, the rate of obesity is still on the increase in adults and adolescent children over the last 10 years. Sixty-one per cent of Bruneians are overweight or obese! Bruneian children have the second highest obesity rate in ASEAN nations.
This will negatively impact on the cancer burden in the coming decades.
Certain cancers are related to exposure of chemicals or pathogens (infection). In the latter, vaccination programmes can be very effective.
Preventive vaccination schedule is available in Brunei against viruses like Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) and Hepatitis B Virus (HPB).
Cervical cancer and liver cancer can both be reduced with vaccination against these viruses. HPV vaccine is accessible to girls in school aged 11 and above, as well as women who are sexually active.
Since the introduction of HPV vaccine in 2012 and a Pap Smear screening programme in 2009, the incidence of cervical cancer in Brunei has decreased dramatically over the last 10 years.
In recent years, uterine and ovarian cancers have surpassed cervical cancer as the most common gynaecological cancer.
Brunei’s progress in reducing cervical cancer incidences is consistent with cervical cancer trends in developed nations. This was a care gap that was closed.
SCREENING FOR CANCER
Screening is an effective way to combat cancer.
Screening uses a set of measures in a target population to detect the early onset cancer in persons without symptoms for a particular cancer.
Screening is proven to save lives. For Brunei, National Health Screening Programmes (NHSP) under the MoH are available for three types of cancer screening (colorectal, breast and cervical cancer screening).
Colorectal and breast cancer screening have been available since 2019. For more information on the NHSP, visit www.ppkk.gov.bn website available in both English and Malay.
THE CARE GAP IN CANCER SCREENING
The obvious care gap in the past year and a half to two years is the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic which has significantly curtailed screening programmes not only in Brunei but in many other nations worldwide.
It is anticipated that many newly diagnosed cancer patients may present with more advanced disease staging due to a delay in diagnosis.
As with any screening for a disease, pitfalls to the effectiveness for same is the lack of take up of same in the target population.
One major pitfall is negative public perception and the lack of awareness to the medical reasons behind screening. Screening saves lives.
A study in 2019 in Brunei showed that there was a significant increase in the number of new colorectal cancer (CRC) cases from 2010-2017 compared to 2002-2009 with a disproportionate increase in the cases compared to the relative increase in the population of Brunei in the same period.
They found that there was an increase in the proportion of younger CRC patients and a high proportion of CRC diagnosed at advanced stages.
The authors concluded the importance of public health policies and programmes to enhance cancer prevention strategies and improve awareness on CRC including screening, symptom recognition among the younger population, healthy lifestyle practices, and the significance of early diagnosis and early intervention, to reduce CRC-associated mortality.
Screening often results in early undetected cancers that are more amenable to curative treatment and lead to long term survivors.
THE CARE GAP IN CANCER TREATMENT
For the diagnosis of cancer, Brunei has all the facilities like radiology, a pathology including state of the art PET scanning.
Treatment modalities like chemotherapy, radiotherapy and surgery are available in the country and are on par with services in other countries with an equivalent high human development index. And all the modalities (specialities) work as a team to give the best possible outcome to any individual with case discussion and multidisciplinary deliberations.
Highly sophisticated state of the art radiation machines are available for people who were previously required to travel abroad for same.
Recently, an additional feather to the cap was the brachytherapy facility, which can deliver high dose to the tumour, like cervical cancer. These were care gaps that have been bridged over the past decade.
Though patients can avail of such medical facilities in the various centres mentioned above, there is still a lack of take up of often lifesaving and potential curative therapy.
A noticeable care gap in cancer treatment in Brunei is the lack of cancer treatment awareness in patients with cancer and their carers. Another care gap is that there is a lack of awareness of the patients’ needs.
These care gaps can lead to poor attendance or take up of life saving cancer treatments by patients and diminished support from the patient carers and caregivers.
In 2017, Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD) research found that cancer care (delivery) can be improved with an increased awareness and understanding of the disease including addressing the needs of the carer.
The authors cited that further research is needed locally to identify the knowledge gaps in patients and their carers and identifying the needs of the population of patients and carers.
This may ultimately lead to improvement in patients in Brunei presenting with more curable disease and less advanced disease and improved adherence to therapy offered (from better attendance) and ultimately better outcome in many patients.
In short, potentially more patients may be saved over time rather than succumb to their cancers if this care gap can be closed. Over time the addition of specialist dietitians, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, psychologists and social welfare support teams just to name a few have been added to bridge such gaps. The aim is to provide a holistic approach to cancer care.
One area of patient care of equally great importance is the need to relieve cancer symptoms and distress for patients and their carers. Palliative Care Medicine addresses same and work concurrently with cancer treatment or on its own to improve the quality of life of patients with cancer. Palliative care provides significant support on top of conventional cancer treatment. This was a significant care gap that was lacking in the past.
ROLE OF PALLIATIVE CARE MEDICINE
Palliative care service in Brunei is relatively new with only two hospitals providing the service which includes The Brunei Cancer Centre (TBCC) of Pantai Jerudong Specialist Centre (PJSC).
The first Palliative Care Department in Brunei was established at Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Saleha (RIPAS) Hospital in 2009.
TBCC was built later to provide comprehensive management for cancer patients and palliative care service was included as well.
Early referral to Palliative Care service is essential to reduce the care gap among the physician and the patients.
According to Temel et al, “among patients with metastatic non–small-cell lung cancer, early palliative care led to significant improvements in both quality of life and mood. As compared with patients receiving standard care, patients receiving early palliative care had less aggressive care at the end of life but longer survival”.
Oncologists and other treating physicians must be aware of the role of Palliative Care services and incorporate them as a team to provide comprehensive and holistic care to the patients to help them during their treatment and support them till the end of it.
Proper explanation about Palliative Care service is needed for the patients to understand that referral to Palliative Care doesn’t mean the treating physician ‘giving up’ on them.
This will not only improve the quality of life of the patient but will also close the care gap.
