As the first hospital in Indonesia to cooperate with Icon Cancer Center, Airlangga University Hospital is supporting the government's efforts to promote health tourism in the country. "So many Indonesians go to Singapore for treatment who can be referred to RSUA for follow up. Likewise, there are patients seeking treatment in Singapore for routine control, which could be treated at Airlangga Hospital," Nasronudin said.

"We hope that this agreement will be the start of a real exchange between Indonesia and Singapore in cancer care and treatment. And in accordance with the government's program, this cooperation will continue to be built," said Prof. Nasronudin during the MOU signing ceremony in Surabaya, East Java, on April 5.

Cancer treatment will be one of the leading health tourism services carried out by the hospital. "There are many cases of cancer that are progressively fatal. There needs to be technology developed together, so that the possibility of fatality can be reduced, so quality of life for cancer patients improves, and life expectancy is increased," he explained.

RSUA hopes to propose an integrated service system for cancer treatment that allows patients to be treated by doctors from multiple disciplines. "There are treatments from oncology and internal medicine to surgery, as well as palliative care. Our hospital and our colleagues from Singapore are currently developing these services," said Nasronudin.

Undoubted quality was the reason for the selection of RSUA as Icon Cancer Centre's partner in Indonesia, according to its CEO Serena Wee Hui Yan. "There are many hospitals in Indonesia, but Airlangga Hospital is the best for us in terms of collaborating," she said, adding that she is optimistic that the collaboration will run well.

This opportunity allows Icon Cancer Center's doctors to establish relations with RSUA doctors, that they will learn from each other in the management of cancer patients, both in Singapore and in Indonesia. "As we can both increase our competences, I think this collaboration will go very well," added Ms. Wee.