“Breast cancer is a health problem affecting over two million women worldwide annually,” says Ruth Pape, Australia Awards alumna. She explains that while early detection and effective treatment can be achieved through breast screening, Papua New Guinea currently has no nationwide screening program.
This is where Ruth is determined to make a difference. With 20 years of mammography experience, Ruth has contributed extensively to her field, dedicating herself to research, teaching, and her own education. Now studying a PhD through her Australia Awards scholarship, she is a beacon of light for women in Papua New Guinea.
“My doctoral journey was ignited in 2005 as a radiographer/mammographer working to screen more than 3000 PNG women through a sponsored screening program at the Pacific International Hospital (PIH),” she says. “In PNG, there is a high incidence of breast cancer affecting mostly younger women, who typically present at the few mammography-equipped health facilities with advanced stages of breast cancer.”
While working at PIH from 2005 to 2011, Ruth dedicated time to learning, despite juggling 15 to 20 mammograms each day along with other radiographic exams, processing films, and changing chemicals.
“At the private practice, when there were no patients, I would use the darkroom to read textbooks related to mammography, collect patient data on mammography and review the mammograms using the Tabar breast density pattern. I had no idea of this knowledge at that time, so I asked a lot of questions to my manager, who was a consultant radiologist. He gave me textbooks to read to further enhance my understanding in these areas.
“My manager saw my interest and helped me to develop a proposal in mammography screening using the data we collected. I used the proposal to submit towards my scholarship application process. After three failed attempts, I never gave up and was finally awarded the Australia Awards Scholarship in 2012 to study for a two-year Masters by Research program at Central Queensland University in Mackay. I graduated in 2015.”
Ruth shifted to the world of academia on her return, commencing with the University of Papua New Guinea (UPNG) as an academic, and was promoted to Head of Medical Imaging Science just one year later. There she leads a team of five academic staff and 60 undergraduate students, supervising more than 10 research projects per year while continuing to undertake her own research on breast cancer, mammography and medical imaging in PNG.
In 2016, Ruth applied for a second Australia Awards scholarship, this time a Short Course. Through the UPNG – James Cook University Twinning Partnership Program, she undertook a Graduate Certificate of Education. Ruth was determined to continue her development, despite being pregnant with her fifth child at this time and facing significant health issues. Her determination was rewarded when she graduated successfully in 2018.
Ruth’s thirst for education continues. She commenced her third Australia Awards scholarship in 2021, a PhD at Charles Sturt University, which she is on track to complete next year. She is investigating the impact of body habitus, specifically the female thorax size and its impact on breast tissue missed on mammograms, to facilitate early breast cancer detection. She has also been published in 17 peer-reviewed journals.
Ruth attributes her passion and drive to God who has granted her wisdom and knowledge to succeed, and to her late father, “who saw beyond the doctoral journey and has taught me to work hard, be resilient and to achieve the highest potential in my career and life”.
When her colleagues at UPNG tell her something is impossible to achieve, Ruth says:
“Nothing is impossible if you have the will to do it, the courage to face it, and the determination to finish it.”
