Cancer care in Singapore

Singapore is a small country, but it is ideally and centrally located to conveniently serve not only its population but also patients from the surrounding regions. It’s economy is sufficiently strong to maintain highly sophisticated and expensive equipment to manage a high level of healthcare, including oncology services. Cancer incidences in Singapore are on an upward trend based on the report of the Singapore Cancer Registry for the period of 2001-2005. Cancer is the number one cause of death in Singapore. The three most common cancers for males in Singapore, in decreasing occurrences, are colorectal, lung, and prostate. For females, the three most common cancers are breast, colorectal, lung cancers. Technological advances and advances in anti-cancer drugs have transformed cancer management leading to improved outcomes worldwide and in Singapore as well. The epidemiology and management of these common cancers in Singapore are presented. While Singapore presently has five radiotherapy centres (3 public, 2 private) to service its population of 4.5 million and regional needs, the government has plans to expand its radiotherapy services to accommodate the aging population and the rising expectations of increasingly affluent cancer patients seeking advanced cancer care. The current and future initiatives spearheaded by Singapore to achieve excellence in this aspect are discussed.