Specialist medical oncologist honoured for his decades of service

Dr Garry Forgeson was made an officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for his services to oncology.

Dr Garry Forgeson was made an officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for his services to oncology.

Dr Forgeson has been a specialist medical oncologist at Palmerston North Hospital since 1988.

Through the early 1990s he guided the expansion and consolidation of the then cancer service into the current Regional Cancer Treatment Service; providing cancer treatment across the hospitals at Palmerston North, Gisborne, Hastings, Taranaki and Whanganui.

From 1985 to 1987 Dr Forgeson was a medical oncology lecturer at the Institute of Cancer Research, and also held the position of senior registrar for the Department of Medicine at the Royal Marsden Hospital in the UK.

He has been a member, vice-president and president on the executive of the Cancer Society Manawatū Centre, been the president of the Cancer Society Central Districts division since 2000 and been a member of the national board of the Cancer Society since 2002.

Dr Forgeson has held the position of chairman of the Palmerston North Hospital Regional Cancer Treatment Trust since 1995, overseeing expansion in the activity and assets of the trust.

Dr Forgeson has held Crown appointments as chairman of the cancer treatment advisory group, and was a member of the cancer programme steering group, the cancer control implementation task force from 2003 to 2004, and the cancer control council 2005 to 2009.