A Melbourne family of health workers is trying to change that, by helping patients who can't afford critical surgery and skilling up health workers in some of the most disadvantaged areas.Associate Professor Dr Michael Leung is performing a simple procedure to remove moles before they become cancerous.
Dr Leung has undertaken about 40 volunteer trips to rural areas in the Asia Pacific, including in Myanmar and Papua New Guinea.“Because they've been waiting a long time to have their condition treated, so usually they deteriorate as time goes. So the cases that you get over there would be actually more challenging than what we see here.”
Dr Leung's volunteer work has earned him recognition as a Member of the Order of Australia in the 2020 Australia Day awards.“You actually feel proud that they can do it by themselves now. So I think it is very rewarding.” “I consider it a real privilege in having that chance and so it is only right that we should give back to the society.”The World Health Organisation etimates about five million people died from cancer every year in the Asia Pacific.