Dr. Cecil Cyrus Museum closing doors Saturday

The Dr Cecil Cyrus Museum was established five years ago on May 25, 2002, but come tomorrow Saturday, September 22, the doors of this country’s only medical and non-medical specimen museum would be closed.{{more}}

The museum, which was established by Dr Cyrus himself, consists of two sections: one is a picture gallery of 700 medical photographs with some of the most baffling medical conditions captured throughout his 38 years as a surgeon, while the other section is divided into two smaller rooms with about 700 pathological specimens which are not for the squeamish, and the other with historical non-medical items.

Speaking with Searchlight, the veteran medical practitioner described the establishment of the museum as one of the highlights of his achievements in his much accomplished life. He however admitted that maintaining the facility had become, as he described it, “a financial millstone”, hence the reason for closing.

Dr Cyrus also pointed out that his receptionist, Josel Morgan, who had been at the museum for close to two years, was going off to further her studies and he found it difficult to train another person to fill her shoes to manage the museum.

Dr Cyrus confessed that it was never his intention to establish a museum, but said that he felt compelled to document many of the conditions people under went. The doctor said that he had spent 13 years abroad studying to become a surgeon and was pleased that he had used that time to gain knowledge, which he said helped him save many lives.

He admitted that in all the years he practiced, he was stunned by the number and the size of tumors and others conditions people tolerated. The outspoken doctor said that it was an indictment on previous local governments that received money from the British government, but never used the money allocated to improve the healthcare system or to increase the number of doctors. He said often times the money returned to the Empire unspent or it was used for other projects, and as a result many people did not seek medical care because they felt their diagnosis was hopeless.

Dr Cyrus said that he saw people in the advanced stages of their illness and was amazed at what they tolerated. He also believed that many people were in denial of their conditions and were afraid to acknowledge the facts and in the process suffered for many years.

Dr Cyrus, who was born on January 6, 1929 and is an author, avid sportsman, father of four children and nine grand children, said he admired his university professor Sir Graham Bull who did not tolerate lazy, incompetent people and J.K Wilson, another of his professors who taught him the importance

of being gentle with the tissues of the body during surgery so that patients could heal faster.

The scholar, who attained a CMG, OBE, MCH, and FRCS calmly said that he can rest easily because he has been able to promote his country through the museum as some 1,200 persons from all over the world have visited it.

“The acquisition of my knowledge allowed me, not only to appreciate fully the diversity of problems in the conditions that I had to deal with, but also to give a better standard of care for my patients. Some men choose the security of money and I didn’t grudge them for that, but I choose the security of knowledge. The little knowledge that I have secured has put me in great stead over the years when I walk among the intellectual giants of the world whom I met at several conferences,” Dr Cyrus ended with a smile.

Dr Cyrus has been continually praised by the Royal College of Pathologists among other colleges and distinguished educational institutions for his work, publications and for the museum.