RENUKA RAI | Thimphu
Her Majesty the GyalyumSangay Choden Wangchuck graced the first anniversary celebration of the breast clinic at the Gyaltsuen Jetsun Pema Wangchuck Mother and Child Hospital, Jigme Dorji Wangchuck National Referral Hospital (JDWNRH), in Thimphu, on September 13.
Bhutan’s first multidisciplinary breast clinic, the breast clinic marks a significant milestone in strengthening specialised and comprehensive breast care in the country.
The clinic is a collaborative initiative of the Ministry of Health, JDWNRH, the Gyalyum Charitable Trust and the Queen Sirikit Centre for Breast Cancer Foundation (QSCBC), Thailand. The partnership brings together specialised expertise, resources and institutional support to strengthen breast healthcare in Bhutan.
The first anniversary marks more than a year of dedicated service and represents an important step towards the long-term vision of establishing a sustainable Centre of Excellence in Breast Care for Bhutan.
The initiative aims to provide contemporary, compassionate and comprehensive breast care closer to home while strengthening national capacity and improving outcomes for women affected by breast cancer.
Speaking at the anniversary celebration, JDWNRH President Dr Pem Namgyal said the establishment of the breast clinic had provided a dedicated centre for the early diagnosis and appropriate treatment of breast cancer.
“Breast cancer is the second commonest cancer among women in Bhutan. The first being cervical cancer,” Dr Namgyal said.
He said the clinic’s establishment was closely linked to Her Majesty’s longstanding commitment to the health and wellbeing of the people of Bhutan.
“With the opening of the breast clinic last year, now we have a well-established centre for early diagnosis and appropriate treatment of breast cancer here at this hospital,” he said.
Dr Namgyal also acknowledged the contribution of Professor Dr Kris Chatamra, Honorary Director of QSCBC, whose support has included specialised equipment, training and mentorship for Bhutanese healthcare professionals.
“It is due to your generosity and your boundless support that we are here today to celebrate the first anniversary of the establishment of the breast clinic at this hospital,” he said.
Since its establishment on September 13, 2025, the clinic has recorded 1,557 dedicated breast-care encounters and more than 1,500 breast imaging examinations and procedures. The breast oncosurgery team has also performed 96 breast operations, including 43 operations for breast cancer and ductal carcinoma in situ.
Head of the breast clinic and breast surgeon Dr Sonam Zangpo said the anniversary was an opportunity to assess whether the clinic had changed the experience of patients seeking breast care.
“Before the breast clinic, breast care was available, but the patient often had to navigate a fragmented pathway across different services,” he said.
“The breast clinic was created to organise care around the patient and a journey rather than around individual departments,” Dr Zangpo said.
He said the number of patients coming through the clinic showed that the need for dedicated breast care had always existed.
“The need was always there. The breast clinic has made that visible, organised and increasingly measurable,” he said.
Dr Zangpo said the clinic now takes greater responsibility for coordinating patients’ care from assessment and diagnosis through treatment and follow-up.
“More importantly, the clinic takes responsibility for that journey, so that a person is not simply passed from one department to another, but is connected to a team that moves with her, follows up and helps coordinate her care,” he said.
The clinic has introduced structured weekly breast services, two dedicated outpatient clinic days and a dedicated operating day. It is also increasingly providing breast-conserving and oncoplastic surgery, sentinel lymph-node biopsy and targeted axillary procedures where clinically appropriate.
“That is what optimisation means to usnot simply doing more, but doing the right thing for the right patient at the right time,” he said.
According to the Bhutan Population Based Cancer Registry, 445 breast cancer patients have been registered, of whom 325 are currently living with breast cancer. Between 2014 and August 2026, 120 deaths have been recorded.
Dr Zangpo said the figures highlighted the need to strengthen not only diagnosis and treatment but also long-term surveillance, rehabilitation, management of treatment-related effects and survivorship care.
“Where do we go from here? This is where we must raise the standard,” he said.
“Our hope is to create the entire patient journey betterthe earlier diagnosis, timely and appropriate treatment, better survivorship and outcomes that we can measure and continuously improve over the years,” he said.
Professor Dr Kris Chatamra said the partnership between QSCBC and the Gyalyum Charitable Trust was built around a shared vision of serving women in need.
Recalling his earlier meeting with Her Majesty, Professor Chatamra said the partnership between the two organisations had developed naturally from their common purpose.
“I like your idea. I wanted to be a sanctuary for women in need,” he recalled Her Majesty saying.
Professor Chatamra said the first anniversary should be viewed as the beginning of a longer journey in developing breast care in Bhutan.
“This is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end, but it is certainly the end of the beginning,” he said.
“Your Majesty, you now have a very good centre, basically advanced and very good team,” he said.
He highlighted the training received by Bhutanese healthcare professionals in Thailand and expressed his continued commitment to supporting the development of breast care in Bhutan.
“We can hold hands and advance together, and whatever we can do to serve, we would be more than delighted and honoured to do so,” Professor Chatamra said.
The clinic’s next phase will focus on strengthening specialised human resources, improving early diagnosis and treatment, expanding survivorship services and developing measurable outcomes as Bhutan works towards establishing a Centre of Excellence in Breast Care.
