He has asked the Department of Public Health to refer his wife to an off-island medical center, but the medical referral office has yet to receive a recommendation from a doctor.
Kisa said the people he approached have not responded yet.
Kisa’s wife, Emi, is a breast cancer patient.
He said last year that she was advised by her attending physician to undergo surgery.
To get a second opinion, the couple consulted doctors in Manila, the Philippines.
Kisa said he and his wife stayed in Manila where she received chemotherapy treatment for five months followed by a cobalt treatment.
Mrs. Kisa said they spent over $4,000 for her chemotherapy, $500 for air fare, and $500 a month for lodgings.
A few weeks after their return to Saipan, Mr. Kisa, who works at the Commonwealth Health Center as a sanitary inspector, called the office of Public Health Secretary Joseph Kevin Villagomez to seek help.
But Villagomez was not around at that time, and Mr. Kisa had to leave a message.
He is still waiting for Villagomez’s return call.
Mr. Kisa said he needs Public Health’s help so that he can bring his wife back to the Philippines for surgery.
Mr. Kisa said he also tried to speak to Deputy Secretary Pete Untalan, who, like Villagomez, has not returned the senior citizen’s calls.
“I’ve been waiting for their calls but I never hear from them,” he added.
Mr. Kisa admitted that he has more confidence in the skills of Manila’s doctors.
“If we have those doctors from the Philippines, then we don’t have to travel there,” he said.
In a separate interview, CHC medical referral administrator Ronald Sablan said his office is open to those needing help as long as they have a recommendation from an attending physician.
He said the Public Health secretary talked to him about Mr. Kisa’s request.
But Sablan said he cannot find the name of Mrs. Kisa in his records.
Sablan said Mr. Kisa should allow his wife to see a CHC doctor who can recommend her for medical referral.
“Once they do that, it will only take a week for her to be sent off-island for treatment,” Sablan said.
