St George's Cancer Care Centre

I begin by greeting everyone in the languages of the realm of New Zealand, in English, Māori, Cook Island Māori, Niuean, Tokelauan and New Zealand Sign Language.  Greetings, Kia Ora, Kia Orana, Fakalofa Lahi Atu, Taloha Ni and as it is the afternoon (Sign)

I then specifically greet you: Rt Rev Victoria Matthews, Bishop of Christchurch; Rev Canon Craufurd Murray, President of the St George’s Hospital Society and a Director of the St George’s Hospital and fellow directors, particularly Richard Elworthy, Chairman of the St George’s Cancer Institute; Tony Hunter, Chief Executive of the Hospital and your staff; Distinguished Guests otherwise; Ladies and Gentlemen.

It was with much pleasure that I accepted the invitation to attend the opening of the St George’s Cancer Care Centre at St George’s Hospital in Christchurch.  I have been asked to formally open this new facility and unveil a plaque to mark the occasion, but before I do, I would like to speak a little of the significance of this occasion.

At the outset, may I offer the apologies of my wife Susan who is unable to be here today.  With the birth of our third grandchild, she has decided to stay in Wellington to support our daughter.

I would also like to say how good it is to be back at St George’s Hospital, having had the pleasure to open the Hospital’s Leinster Chambers in March last year.  In doing so, I am continuing a long list of Governors-General, going back to Sir Bernard Fergusson, who have opened new facilities and services at this hospital.

Good health is something that is vitally important for each and every New Zealander. However, it is often taken for granted and only when a person is sick, do they realise the blessing of good health.   As one whose father was a general practitioner, and whose mother was a nurse, and as someone who has my share of health issues over the years, I can readily understand the succinct words of the 19th Century American essayist and poet Ralph Waldo Emerson saying:  “The first wealth is health.”

The ‘C’ word, however, is a diagnosis that no one wants to hear. However, cancer, in all its forms, is on the rise in this country. The latest figures available, released by the Ministry of Health in April, show that more than 18,800 cancers were registered in New Zealand in 2006.  Those figures are 16 percent higher than they were a decade earlier.

Those figures show that cancer is a leading cause of death and a major cause of hospitalisation in New Zealand. It reports that one in three New Zealanders will have some experience of cancer, either personally, or through a relative or friend, in their lifetime.

Several factors are behind this increase.   First, the New Zealand population is ageing and while cancer can strike at any age, the likelihood increases as one gets older. Moreover, as the first New Zealanders born after the Second World War—the baby boomers—begin to look toward retirement, the numbers in the 65 plus age group are set for a significant increase.  The Ministry figures I quoted before noted that in 2006, more than half of those diagnosed with cancer were 65 years and older and more than 70 percent of deaths were in that age group.

As well, with the implementation of several cancer screening programmes, the number of people being diagnosed with cancer at an early stage has also increased.  Again, the statistics are insightful in that they show that while the number of deaths from cancer has increased, given the increase in New Zealand’s population, the rates of death from cancer have actually declined.

While this is a good thing, it has placed pressure on the health system to treat those diagnosed and also to support them and their family in the process of healing and recovery.

Together these factors and statistics combine to  reveal a disease that directly or indirectly affects the lives of hundreds of thousands of Kiwis every year. It is therefore so important that healthcare system continues to keep abreast of this growing demand.

The St George’s Cancer Care Centre is one such welcome initiative.  In a project that I am advised was five years in the planning and took two years to build, this multi-million dollar facility is a major advancement in cancer care in the South Island.

With two new linear accelerators that feature the latest technology to target and kill cancer cells, a new CT scanner to detect them, a six-chair chemotherapy suite and numerous consulting rooms, the St George’s Cancer Care Centre will complement the existing facilities in the public and private sectors.

To reflect on the complexity of this facility, it is worth noting that a linear accelerator is not something one simply plugs in and starts using.  Given the radiation they produce, they are placed in lead-lined underground concrete bunkers and once installed undergo a lengthy and extensive calibration process to ensure optimum and safe treatment. 

In addition to these medical facilities, I understand significant work has been undertaken to make visiting the Centre as comfortable as possible for those having treatment and their friends and family.

I also understand that the Centre is also looking to extend its services to include a host of other onsite support, including psychosocial and dietary advice, speech language therapy and social work consultations.  This is to be welcomed because recovering from cancer is about regaining a sense of physical, mental and social wellbeing that extends well beyond the completion of treatment.  That this facility has been called a “cancer care centre,” rather than an “oncology ward” reflects that enlightened perspective.

It also speaks of St George’s Hospital’s ongoing commitment to its motto: A tradition of excellence.  Since its establishment in 1928, St George’s Hospital is now one of New Zealand’s largest private hospitals.  In the last 20 years in particular, it has invested heavily in redeveloping this site to meet the current and future health needs of Cantabrians.

In conclusion then, I extend my congratulations to St George’s Hospital and everyone involved in bringing the St George’s Cancer Care Centre to fruition.  I understand significant fundraising was undertaken by the St George’s Cancer Institute to buy the linear accelerators, and I extend my thanks to everyone who has supported this project.

It therefore gives me great pleasure to officially declare the St George’s Cancer Care Centre open. 

And on that note of congratulation, I will close in New Zealand’s first language by offering everyone greetings and wishing you all good health and fortitude in your endeavours.  

No reira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, kia ora, kia kaha, tēnā koutou katoa.