Cancer patients always brace for tense treatment sessions at hospital, as well as fall into extreme despair and melancholy. Fully aware of these challenges, the medical workers at the Oncology Ward of the Da Nang General Hospital has made tremendous efforts to help their patients calm their minds, and especially, gain even more spiritual strengths to continue their tough battles against their life-threatening disease.

A dedicated doctor examining a cancer patient at the Oncology Ward of the Da Nang General Hospital

In addition to activities showing their deep sympathy and kind concern for these patients, the hospital’s staff has continuously acquired advanced treatments through bilateral cooperation programmes with a number of international organisations worldwide.

By listening closely to their patients, doctors and nurses are able to understand and sympathise with their difficulties and pains, so they do their best to wholeheartedly provide their best healthcare service.

The Centre for Radiotherapy and Nuclear Medicine was officially opened at the Da Nang General Hospital in 2011. At that time, the national government gave a nod to the use of the aid package worth more than 200 billion VND (10 million US$) for the expansion of facilities and the purchase of medical equipment.

In January 2015, the municipal People's Committee entered into a memorandum of understanding with the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) to implement the Q-Health project in the city. 

The project aims to enhance the efficient usage of medical support equipment at the city’s hospital, and enhance the professional skills of the hospital’s medical workers. 

Under the agreement, KOICA gave approximately 9 billion VND ( around 450,000 USD) in non-refundable aid to the Centre. The money went to improve the efficient usage of medical support equipment at the centre.

Since 2015, the Q-Health project played an important role in training human resources for the Da Nang General Hospital involved in medical management, radiation therapy treatments, intensity modulated radiation therapy, as well as facilitate the patients to access the advanced South Korean treatment techniques.

KOICA has to date organised a 7 training courses right at the hospital for a total of about 1,500 medical staff members on multimodal treatment approaches to treat cancer, general nursing care, the effective utilities of medical equipment, educational constancies, safe handling of cytotoxic chemicals and other aspects.

Viet Nam’s leading modern cancer treatment techniques such as cyclotron systems, positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET-CT) and single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), installed at the hospital, have proved highly effective.

In September 2017, the hospital started operating an online system which allows its doctors to conduct their diagnosis exchanges with their colleagues from the Yonsei Cancer Center in South Korea.

The operation of the system facilitates the hospital to share experiences in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases with the Yonsei University and other medical centre worldwide in. The hospital has already sent its 3 doctors and technicians to South Korea to learn more about the operation of this useful system.

According to Dr Le Duc Nhan, the hospital’s Director, remarked, “Thanks to effective cooperation programme with KOICA, in addition to their access to ways to enhance their professional skills, the hospital’s medical staff members have raised their awareness of promoting nursing knowledge, and upholding their devotion and enthusiastic attitude towards patients. These, indeed, help cancer patients stay optimistic and strong to overcome their pain”.