Stakeholder support urgently needed in cancer treatment

A study of cancer statistics in Zimbabwe is enough to send shivers down one's spine, bringing home the reality that the disease is a major pandemic in the country, and urgent support is needed from all stakeholders, before it becomes a fire none of us can extinguish.

Just to show how cancer has been dangerously and recklessly placed on the backseat of our nation's psyche, the latest statistics of the disease are those of 2012, which in itself is shocking.

According to the Zimbabwe National Cancer Registry, cases of cancer are on the increase, with 5000 people diagnosed annually in the country - that is, an average of fourteen people everyday.

Considering that this is a gross underestimate, as most people are only diagnosed when they go to a health institution after falling sick, these statistics are not only shocking, but flabbergasting - to say the least.

The leading causes of deaths were cervical cancer with 11 percent, Kaposi sarcoma nine percent, oesophagus nine percent, prostate cancer nine percent, non-Hodgkin lymphoma eight percent, primary liver cancer eight percent, colo-rectal cancer five percent, breast cancer four percent and lung cancer four percent.

The most painful part of all this is that most of these deaths can be prevented through effective prevention and treatment programmes, that involve all stakeholders.

In my humble opinion, the major cause of death amongst cancer patients are the ridiculously prohibitive costs involved in treatment.

Admittedly, treatment costs vary according to the type of treatment required for that particular cancer, but my own experience through someone very close to me who was recently diagnosed with colo-rectal cancer - which the oncologists said had fortunately been diagnosed early, and as such, would be relatively easier to treat through chemotherapy - it costs an average of US$65 per day for the medication.

The question that now begs an answer is: how much does it cost to treat other cancers, and in their varied states?

With the current state of the ailing Zimbabwean economy, it is more than a mystery as to how the government, in particular, believes cancer patients are supposed to meet such exorbitant costs.

According to statistics, most cancers rear their heads in the twilight years, that is, the elderly are most affected.

Needless to say, in our emaciated economy, these costs are certainly out of the reach of most cancer patients - mainly the elderly - who are doomed to a very painful and cruel death.

This should not be the case, if only all stakeholders worked together with genuine seriousness in finding a solution to this problem.

I believe that it can be done. Where the is a will, there is a way.

A case in point is HIV/Aids. Can we imagine what the situation would have been like if we all had to foot our own ARV treatment bills? Would most of us be alive today had that been the case?

However, I believe that a level of seriousness and political will was reached by the government and all relevant stakeholders that enabled the availability of free testing and counselling for HIV/Aids, free condom distribution, and relatively free ARV treatment.

This very commendable gesture can also be extended to cancer treatment. The government needs to adopt the same political will and seriousness in galvanising support for cancer treatment.

With such a will and seriousness, these needless deaths, that are so painful and unbearable, can be minimised, if not avoided. We need to come together with urgency and commitment.

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Tendai Ruben Mbofana is a community activist, communications consultant, journalist and writer. He writes in his personal capacity. He welcomes any feedback. Please contact him on +263782283975 (call/WhatsApp), or email: tendaiandtinta.mbofana@gmail.com