St. George's, GRENADA - There is good news for patients seeking cancer treatment in Grenada. The Oncology Program, which was besieged by problems and controversy in recent months, is now up and running with a new treatment protocol set by a cancer specialist. Director of Hospital Services Thorne Roberts, in an interview with the Government Information Service, said nurses have been instructed to strictly follow the protocol. "We have a visiting oncologist who set the treatment protocol and a house officer who is implementing it,'' Mr. Roberts said. He added that health officials are also working on a five-year strategic oncology plan, which will focus on the prevention of cancer. In addition, a cancer registry is being planned by the Ministry of Health headed by Honourable Karl Hood, parliamentary representative for St. George's South-East. "We will be implementing a cancer Registry which is going to take care of all data, including types of cancer and what the treatment should be for each,'' said Mr. Roberts. Meanwhile, there is also welcome news for kidney patients with the Ministry of Health planning to soon begin providing dialysis treatment to citizens. Health officials say that an location has already been identified as the treatment centre. Mr. Roberts said that the Ministry of Health is just awaiting the arrival of technicians who are responsible for setting up the necessary equipment. The Health Ministry's dialysis treatment services programme is expected to come on stream later this month. From the Government Information Service (GIS) INSIDE GRENADA NEWS