Hong Kong Anti-Cancer Society

THE HONG KONG Anti-Cancer Society (HKACS), founded in 1963, has three principal aims: to promote, coordinate and undertake cancer research and cancer education; to promote, coordinate, and undertake relief work for cancer patients and survivors and their families; and to provide medical facilities for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer patients in Hong Kong.

Above, a radiologist examines CAT scans. Such technology is promoted by the Hong Kong Anti-Cancer Society.

The society is funded by public donations and is a member agency of the Community Chest of Hong Kong, which provides funds to help meet HKACS operating expenses. The society is governed by an executive committee and has three subcommittees: Hospice Care Development, Cancer education, and the Betterment Fund for Cancer Patients.

The HKACS provided the funding for construction of Nam Long Hospital, devoted entirely to the care of cancer patients, which opened in 1967. It was the only dedicated facility for cancer treatment and hospice care in Hong Kong at that time. Nam Long Hospital originally had 120 beds; this number was increased to 180 beds in 1978. In 1987, a hospice care program was established, and since 1989 more than 30 percent of the hospital beds have been devoted to hospice care. The hospital has been managed since 1991 by the Hospital Authority of Hong Kong, which manages all public hospitals in Hong Kong. Nam Long Hospital was converted to a cancer rehabilitation center in 2007.

The Hospice Care Development subcommittee advises the hospice-care team of Nam Long Hospital on hospice-care delivery services, organizes training courses and workshop for hospice-care professionals, and conducts public awareness campaigns to promote hospice care to the general public. The Cancer education subcommittee organizes courses, lectures, and exhibitions for the medical profession and the general public, and publishes information pamphlets on cancer. The Betterment Fund for Cancer Patients manages a fund devoted to providing financial assistance to cancer patients and to supporting group activities for cancer patients. Most of the support for this fund is provided by the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust and the Brewin Trust Fund.

The HKACS provides funds for cancer research, concentrating on types of cancer common in Hong Kong, such as nasopharyngeal cancer and lung cancer. This in part reflects the research interests of the founder of HKACS, John H. C. Ho, a pioneer in cancer research and treatment. Ho established the first academic department of radiology and oncology at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. His greatest contributions may have been in the area of nasopharyngeal cancer; he discovered that feeding infants salted preserved fish, a common practice in southern China, was a primary risk factor.