by Mindy Aguon, KUAM News Wednesday, February 28, 2007 Subscribe to Mindy's newsfeed   E-mail this article Printable version KUAM Toolbar Web Widgets Get RSS headlines

Although Acting Governor Mike Cruz delayed the unveiling of his Healthy Guam Initiative this week, the Guam Medical Society feels reasonably positive about the healthcare provided for island residents. GMS president Dr. Nathaniel Berg told KUAM News, "The state of the island's healthcare hasn't really changed much in the first sixty days of the Administration; I'm not sure that we would expect a whole lot of change that quickly. Except in one area, we are a little disappointed that cancer care is not moving forward a fast as we'd like, but I would say we remain cautiously optimistic regarding the future of healthcare on Guam."

The Fiscal Year 2007 budget law mandates that officials at the Guam Memorial Hospital to conduct a study to purchase more than $2,000,000 worth of radiology equipment. The state-of-the-art technology would allow cancer patients to stay on island for radiation therapy, currently only offered off-island.