The President Post
C2 September 12, 2010
www.thepresidentpost.com
Health Mochtar Gives Hope through World-Class Cancer Center By Alci Tamesa
The official noted that since cancer is one of the main killers in Indonesia, the existence of MRCCC brings hope to millions of people who need treatment for the disease.
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n a strong gesture of his love of the nation, veteran businessman Mochtar Riady has set up Indonesia’s first private cancer hospital that will open on October 20 this year. He spent more than one trillion rupiah to build this hospital in Jakarta. This facility is called Mochtar Riady Comprehensive Cancer Center (MRCCC) at Siloam Hospital Semanggi, Jakarta. The MRCCC is fully equipped with sophisticated technology and it will use American standards in all its services. Yet by Indonesian standards the rates will be affordable, he says. All the requirements regarding medical experts and hospital facilities have been fulfilled and approved by the Ministry of Healthm whose director general, Supriyantoro, says that Mochtar Riady deserves the nation’s appreciation for building this hospital because in present-day Indonesia it is very rare to find a businessman willing to spend on such a project. The official noted that since cancer is one of the main killers in Indonesia, the existence of MRCCC brings hope to millions of people who need treatment for the disease. The government has welcomed this enthusiastically because MRCCC conforms to a presidential decree which called for development of world-class hospitals in order to reduce the number of people going abroad. At least 300,000 Indonesians seek medical help abroad every year, causing a great amount of foreign exchange to flow into overseas institutions. MRCCC provides an opportunity for local medical doctors with world-class qualification to practice their skills and at the same time further boost Siloam Hospital’s already impeccable reputation. The government hopes that
this facility will help alleviate the burden cancer patients from every corner of the archipelago. Mochtar himself sees this facility as a form of Lippo Group’s corporate social responsibility toward the nation; he has installed the best facilities for cancer treatment and will apparently develop nanotechnology treatment on cancer patients here. This is because Mochtar also has a research institution called MRIN (Mochtar Riady Institute for Nanotechnology), which is supported by some of the world’s best medical scientists exchanging ideas and research input for the purpose of feeding Siloam Group of Hospitals with valid and up-to-date analyses, including genetic expression patterns (GEP). Given the extent of service that MRCCC and MRIN are providing for the nation, Mochtar hopes that this latest entry in what will be his long list of legacies will represent “the salt and the light” for the people of Indonesia. The phrase “the salt and the light” is apparently taken from a biblical passage to indicate good deed to help others. On top of MRCCC is a huge helicopter landing pad enough for five helicopters to land on. This is designed specifically for transporting patients in critical condition. The cancer hospital, built on a 5.3 hectare plot of land in Jakarta’s golden triangle area, occupies a 36-storey building, 29 floors of which feature 366 bedrooms and seven parking floors. As such, MRCCC is one of the world’s 10 tallest hospital buildings to date. One of the most long-awaited facilities that will be operational in October is a liver transplantation center. So, if you have a cancerous liver that must be taken off your body, don’t worry. Just find a donor with a healthy liver and the hospital can take half of it out of his body and plant it in yours. After some time, both parts will grow into full-fledged
The Lippo Village Siloam Hospitals is the first Indonesian hospital to attain the prestigious US-based Joint Commission International (“JCI”) accreditation – the world’s leading internationally recognized hospital accreditation award, putting it in the same league as other leading hospitals in the Asia-Pacific region. Another Siloam hospital is conveniently located in Kebon Jeruk, West Jakarta, about six kilometers from Central Jakarta. This hospital provides international standard facilities catering to both inpatient and outpatient needs. As center of excellence for urology, obstetrics-gynecology, and gastroenterology, Siloam Hospitals Kebon Jeruk is known for its expertise in the diagnosis and treatment of disorders of the urinal system, its ability to handle the most complex and difficult cases in labor and delivery, diagnosis and treatment of stomach and intestine disorders, as well as endoscopic surgery. livers to benefit both of you. Liver cancer is a common killer in Southeast Asia and the People’s Republic of China, which is why Mochtar took the initiative to focus on treatment for this problem. Already installed in MRCCC are facilities for radiotherapy, brachiterapy, chemotherapy, Multisclice CT 256, cyclotron, palliative therapy, and angiography. To fight cancer, MRCCC is collaborating with Varian Medical System, which is a reputable provider of hard and software for cancer treatment by way of killing cancer cells through certain methodologies of radiation. According to Chief Operation Officer of MRCCC, Hanny G Moniaga, the hospital also cooperates with Dharmais Hospital, RSCM and YKI, the Indonesian Cancer Foundation. “Coming here is like going to Singapore for medical treatment because we have very comprehensive service with sophisticated equipment, but at the same time you will pay three times less for the cost of treatment in Singapore,” she says. Apart from developing such health system, Mochtar is also eager to build 1,000 schools across
Coffee May Cut Risk for Some Cancers Drinking more than four cups of coffee may lower the risk of some head and neck cancers, according to a new study. Researchers found that regular coffee drinkers – those who drank more than four cups of coffee a day – had a 39 percent decreased risk of two types of head and neck cancer: oral cavity and pharynx cancers. Coffee did not decrease the risk of a third type of oral cancer – laryngeal cancer. They looked at nine existing studies and analyzed how much coffee was consumed by more than 5,000 cancer patients and about 9,000 healthy people. While these results are encouraging, it doesn’t mean we should just go out and start drinking lots of coffee, says Mia Hashibe, lead researcher and an assistant professor in the department of family and preventive medicine at the University of Utah. Hashibe points out that the main risk factors for oral cancers are smoking and drinking alcohol. She says the best way to prevent getting these cancers is to not smoke or drink alcohol, rather than drinking lots of coffee. In the past, there’s been a perception that coffee may be bad for you, according to Dr. Donald Hensrud, chair of preventive medicine at the Mayo Clinic. But he says that newer studies suggest that drinking coffee may actually be good for you. “Like many things, the evidence changes over time,” says Hensrud.
beneficial Photo: www.engagingconflicts.com outcomes” with coffee and He adds that when oral cancer. But he it comes to the link beis concerned that the side tween coffee and head and neck can- effects of coffee are not addressed in cer, “the benefits outweigh the risks this study. Shin says when it comes to and this is just one more piece of that preventing cancer, the combination puzzle that supports that.” approach is best. He suggests “conIt’s not exactly known why coffee suming coffee, tea, veggies, and fruits may help prevent these cancers. But rather than doing just one thing.” coffee contains over 1,000 different chemical compounds, including Hensrud adds that there are some cancer-fighting antioxidants, and it’s drawbacks to drinking too much those antioxidants that may provide coffee, including liver damage or ina “plausible explanation” for reducing creased blood pressure. Other posthe cancer risk, says Hensrud. sible side effects from drinking a lot Other recent studies suggest coffee of coffee include insomnia, reflux, may have beneficial effects in other heartburn, palpitations, urinary sysdiseases like dementia, diabetes, liver tems and increased fluid intake, says and Parkinson’s disease. However, Hensrud. He says coffee can also be coffee alone may not be the answer addictive and some people may sufaccording to some experts. Dr. Dong fer from withdrawal headaches. Too Shin, a head and neck specialist at Em- much coffee may make it harder to ory Winship Cancer Institute says this conceive and can increase the risk of new study suggests “there is a hint of miscarriage. (CNN)
Indonesia. Under the Pelita Harapan Education Foundation, which is chaired by his son James Riady, Mochtar now boasts the quality of “national plus” Sekolah Pelita Harapan (SPH) the first Indonesian school ever to have implemented the International Baccalaureate (IB) system. There is also Universitas Pelita Harapan (UPH), the Medical School of which is a source of pride to him. His MRIN contributes to scientific and medical re-
search which are made available to all relevant institutions across the nation. Apart from MRCCC, the Siloam Group of Hospitals comprises an array of world-class medical facilities in several parts of the country. The main hospital, which is located at the vicinity of the Lippo Village township in West Jakarta, provides a comprehensive range of medical specialties, foremost two centers of excellence in neuroscience and cardiology.
Meanwhile, Siloam Hospitals Lippo Cikarang has also built a reputation of providing international standard medical care. This hospital offers a broad range of general and specialist services that are particularly dedicated to help trauma patients. Its Pediatric Neonatal ICU, which treats premature and sick babies, has gained respect and stature over the years. The hospital’s centre of excellence is Urology, which is equipped by an ESWL unit to treat patients with kidney stones.
In Surabaya, the second largest city in Indonesia, Siloam Hospitals is the city’s largest private hospital, famous for its centre of excellence in fertility, which specializes in In-Vitro technology also known as Assisted Reproductive Technology. Meanwhile, the Semanggi Specialist Clinic in South Jakarta provides a holistic approach to improving the health and wellbeing of men, women and children, and has become a preferred choice for companies and organizations to send their staff for medical check-up. This state-ofthe art, outpatient clinic provides world-class specialist medical services and general practice, dental and beauty service. All of this shows that what Mochtar is doing is not a mere story of investment; it is about his total commitment to serving the nation with what he can maximally provide. This is why he integrated the Medical School of UPH with the Siloam Group of Hospitals, MRIN, and MRCCC. Together they form a unique community providing excellent services and a center of learning from which Indonesians and the international community can benefit. In so doing, Mochtar believes that one should always give hope to others. “Never deprive someone of hope; it may be all that he has,” Mochtar says. This is why to him the MRCCC is a “building of hope” for Indonesians and for people from other nations on earth.