I have lived in Siem Reap for several years with no health problems. Unfortunately last year I was diagnosed with a fatal disease and had to leave Cambodia for medical treatment. Fortunately the treatment was successful (for now) and my life expectancy has been extended to 5 years if lucky or 10 years if very lucky. I have already made enquiries in Siem Reap and found that all the medicines I might possibly need are available at a reasonable price. I do have a few outstanding questions for which I have not found an answer. These are:

1. Are there any Oncologists in Siem Reap? From what I know it seems not.
2. Can anyone recommend an Oncologist in Phnom Penh?
3. I need to take a special blood test every few months. It is called "Serum Free Light Chains (SFLC)". I enquired at laboratories in Siem Reap but they have no clue. Is it available in Phnom Penh?
4. I also need a drip periodically with a chemical called "Zapoclonic Acid". Even the Royal Hospital in Siem Reap had no clue. Is it available in Phnom Penh? It needs to be done by a nurse who really knows what she is doing.

I suspect the last 2 are probably available at Calmette Hospital as I believe they have an Oncology unit. I have heard bad stories about Calmette (and some good ones) so wonder if there are any other options. It would be useful to know the costs of these too.

I will be back in Siem Reap next month and will enquire further. My plan is to return permanently in 2020.

Sorry that these are rather specialised questions and its possible nobody knows the answers.

P.S. If you do not know what an Oncologist is count your blessings. I also did not know until last year. There are some things its best not to know.

i seen a story whereby a eldrly chap was given the all clear from a scan done at a hospital there & told no need to return for followups then he went to another hospital a few km away soon after & they found stage 4 inoperable cancer

do they write off the elderly as not a priority so nogafs

I dont know in this situation. But there are some situations where they believe the cancer is too widespread, and they cant do anything, so the aim becomes to make the patient happy by not being honest with them.

newsworthy/cambodia-unveils-modern-canc ... 17763.html

During an interview yesterday, Dr Eav Sokha, director of the new centre, said there are only 26 oncologists for the more than 15 million people in the country. Of those, 20 will be working at the centre, with the other six working at the Khmer-Soviet Friendship Hospital’s Oncology Department – the only two public locations in the country providing such services.

@ OP Two hospitals have an oncology dept and they are both in PP - Calmette and Khmer-Soviet. Don't be afraid of Calmette - what is good there is very good, and the new wing is brand new.

@@markd
@@explorer

Op asks some serious questions about availability of medicine and services in the Siem Reap area. Questioning the diagnose of his current oncologist is not just irrelevant, I consider it pretty insensitive and rude too.

@OP
Given the number of oncologists in Cambodia and the proximity of Siem Riep to Thailand I would probably opt for an oncologist there. You have to take the 'two times a year only' border crossing by land into account though. Maybe a long term (medical?) visa can overcome this.

While I had a relative who did eventually pass away (no fault of them) he was happy with the treatment he received from Sen Sok Hospital.
http://www.sensokiuh.com/en/oncology/

Kammekor wrote: ↑Wed Jun 12, 2019 9:59 am @OP
Given the number of oncologists in Cambodia and the proximity of Siem Riep to Thailand I would probably opt for an oncologist there. You have to take the 'two times a year only' border crossing by land into account though. Maybe a long term (medical?) visa can overcome this.

It's cheap to fly SR-BKK. No limit on enrties to Thailand by air.

Unlike many others I do not have a high opinion of medical services in Thailand. I was misdiagnosed twice in Thailand before returning to New Zealand to get a correct diagnosis. In fairness there are a number of very expensive tests involved to obtain a correct diagnosis. The quote from Dr Sokha is very interesting and sounds like Calmette is the place to go. I must say I personally have not had a bad experience at Calmette - quite the contrary. I wonder if they do their blood tests in-house or is there an outside laboratory that could accept blood from Siem Reap? It seems probable that the Zapoclonic Acid drip is only available at Calmette.

Friend had good service at http://gleneagleskl.com.my/centres-of-e ... gy-centre/

airasia fly daily

samrong01 wrote: ↑Wed Jun 12, 2019 1:12 pm Unlike many others I do not have a high opinion of medical services in Thailand. I was misdiagnosed twice in Thailand before returning to New Zealand to get a correct diagnosis. In fairness there are a number of very expensive tests involved to obtain a correct diagnosis. The quote from Dr Sokha is very interesting and sounds like Calmette is the place to go. I must say I personally have not had a bad experience at Calmette - quite the contrary. I wonder if they do their blood tests in-house or is there an outside laboratory that could accept blood from Siem Reap? It seems probable that the Zapoclonic Acid drip is only available at Calmette.

They do their tests in house, if they can. I personally have experienced a false negative on one blood test at Calmette, so I don't trust their lab too much. But in Cambodia you options are usually limited.

I guess for sophisticated tests they will outsource to Ho Chi Minh or Bangkok.