Naoto T Ueno, Director of the University of Hawaii Cancer Center, shared a post on X:
“This is the reality of oncology care in Hawaiʻi.
When access to cancer specialists is limited, patients wait longer, travel farther, and face more uncertainty during one of the most difficult times in their lives. Poor access does not only delay care. It also increases frustration, anxiety, and dissatisfaction among patients and families.
It also limits access to clinical trials. When oncologists are already stretched thin managing high patient volumes, broad scopes of care, referrals, coordination, and urgent clinical needs, they have less time and infrastructure to open trials, screen patients, discuss research options, and manage complex study requirements.
For Hawaiʻi, this is not just a workforce issue. It is a patient-experience issue, a clinical-trial access issue, a quality-of-care issue, and a statewide health-disparity issue.
Cancer care should not depend on which island you live on.”
Other articles featuring Naoto T Ueno on OncoDaily