Voices from the Field Dennis & Nancy Palmer Get to know Dennis & Nancy

Radiation Therapy for Cameroon

Published on August 12, 2022

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Dear Friends,

We are currently “On the Road.” Since we arrived in the USA in May, we’ve attended an international NAB missionary retreat and the NAB youth Gathering; seen most of our family, several retired missionaries, and other old friends; and given reports to eight NAB churches and the Southwestern Association of churches. We are enjoying the chance to reconnect with people and tell of what God is doing in Cameroon.

Radiation Therapy for Cameroonians

Much of the work we have been involved in at Mbingo over the past 15 years has been with the development of the training programs and infrastructure of the hospital. The electrical problem was solved with the completion of the hydroelectric plant. We now have adequate water supply for the hospital supplied from the hydroelectric dam. The central oxygen system is installed but giving us some maintenance issues at present. We have a plan to complete a lagoon system to handle our waste problem. With all this accomplished and the training programs functioning well, we are working on leveraging the great infrastructure into programs that will advance patient care.

Over the past several years, we have received an increasing number of patients presenting with cancer diagnoses. Our ability to manage these complicated problems through surgery and chemotherapy has improved over recent years. We are working on adding a linear accelerator at the hospital, which will improve the care of many of these patients. In June, we received a donated linear accelerator at Mbingo. We are now working to find the resources to build the bunker that will house the unit. It is expensive due to the amount of concrete needed to contain the radiation from the machine. The NAB is supporting the project through their Special Projects program. If you are interested in supporting the construction of the bunker building, you may do so here (https://nabconference.org/give/special-projects/) and scroll down to “Cameroon.” We believe that with the addition of radiotherapy to the other cancer treatment options already available, Mbingo will develop into a leading cancer treatment center in Cameroon. This is a great ministry opportunity.

We plan to return to Cameroon in early January for several months to continue to work on this and other projects. We will return to the US later next year to continue visiting our supporting churches, after which we will be retiring from full-time missionary service.

Thank you for your continued support for us and the medical work at Mbingo.

Dennis & Nancy Palmer

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