Cancer treatment remains out of reach

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AS Zimbabwe this month commemorates breast cancer month under the theme Think pink, find it, fight it and win the battle, cancer treatment remains expensive and beyond the reach of most ordinary citizens.

Wongai Zhangazha

The cost build-up from examination, diagnosis, lumpectomy, surgery and chemotherapy/radiotherapy, runs into thousands of dollars with no subsidies to alleviate the financial burden.

Many people end up dying because they just cannot afford to get treatment.

An elderly woman, Mutsa Dondo from Chipinge, sits in the shade on the lush green lawn next to the entrance to the Parirenyatwa Radiotherapy Centre. Diagnosed with cervical cancer, she has just gone through her regular chemotherapy session and taking a rest before heading home.

She gets up to refill her water bottle at a tap nearby, gulps a few sips and returns back to sit in the shade.

Despite the long and painful treatment, she still manages a smile albeit a weak one, and says treatment has now become part of her routine without which she would not survive for long.

My life changed on 13 February last year after I had bled continuously, says Dondo. It was like I was having a continuous menstrual cycle which is not just normal. I wasted no time in seeking medical attention at a local clinic despite some friends and relatives suggesting it was a clear case of witchcraft as at my age they didnt expect that.

At the rural clinic, they referred her to Mutare General Hospital where she was told the devastating news that she had cervical cancer.

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Cancer treatment remains out of reach