By AVA TURNQUEST

Tribune Staff Reporter

aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

ANOTHER physician has come forward in support of former MUHC boss Dr Arthur Porter’s cancer diagnosis.

Thoracic surgeon Dr Duane Sands confirmed yesterday that he performed an operation on Dr Porter after he was diagnosed with metastatic lung cancer in The Bahamas.

Both Dr Porter and his wife, Pamela Mattock, are in a Panamanian jail as they await a court hearing over bail and their decision to fight extradition to Canada.

In an interview with The Tribune, Dr Sands maintained that his colleague was “innocent until proven guilty” as speculation over the veracity of the embattled physician’s health status mounts.

“He was diagnosed with metastatic lung cancer a number of months ago,” Dr Sands said.

“There is absolutely no question in my mind about that diagnosis, since I was the one that did that operation, and he has battled very aggressively and has done remarkably well considering.”

In the Bahamas, Dr Porter is managing director of the Cancer Centre of the Bahamas in Nassau.

The physician and cancer specialist faces six fraud-related charges stemming from the construction of the US$1.3 billion McGill University Health Centre in Montreal during his tenure as director.

Canadian police believe that Mrs Mattock might have conspired with her husband to launder millions of dollars, according to an arrest warrant obtained by The Tribune.

Dr Porter, 56, was transferred to Panama’s La Joya penitentiary on Friday, according to Panamanian officials, who said the oncologist takes oral chemotherapy and has an oxygen tank.

Mrs Mattock, 53, has been transferred to a women’s prison.

Dr Sands’ testimony follows a public pronouncement by controversial cancer expert Dr Karol Sikora, director of Medical Oncology at the Bahamas Cancer Centre.

Alongside numerous accolades for his academic work on cancer treatment, Dr. Sikora is also known for his contribution to another high-profile prognosis, the Lockerbie bomber.

Speaking to Canadian media on Monday, Dr Sikora said that Dr Porter had less than a year to live and contested reports by Panamanian officials that suggested Dr Porter was not as sick as he claimed.

In January, Dr Porter told The Tribune that he had late, stage-four cancer and was too ill to travel as allegations surrounding his business ventures, and tenure and resignation from the McGill University Health Centre heightened.

Quebec’s anti-corruption squad issued an international arrest warrant for the couple in February.

The Porters were arrested in Panama City during a connecting flight from Nassau to Trinidad and Tobago on May 25, according to Panamanian police.

Both the diagnosis of metastatic lung cancer, and the subsequent operation, were done in January, according to Dr Sands.

Dr Sands did not go into detail about the nature of the operation or how it was performed, stating that Dr Porter was entitled to his confidentiality.

In an interview with The Tribune yesterday, Dr Sands lamented the decorated physician’s fall from grace.

Dr Sands said: “In the court of public opinion we have forgotten that accused persons are innocent until proven guilty.

“Notwithstanding the accusations, they have lives, as well as his history is one of a very accomplished individual, both in the Bahamas, US and Canada.”

He added: “For him to have risen to the heights that he did to now be subjected to this speculative vilification is very unfortunate. If he is charged then fine, then he’s entitled to defend himself against those charges, but if he is not charged or is found innocent a lot of this speculative vilification cannot be undone.”

Although the cancer diagnosis was formally made in January, Dr Sands explained that it was possible Dr Porter had started exhibiting symptoms earlier on. Dr Sands said that he has been colleagues with Dr Porter since January 2013.

However, both physicians were part of a national task force on stem cell therapy in December. The government-appointed team, led by Dr Porter, presented recommendations on stem cell research and therapy.