Agony of a cancer patient

Regina Pasipanodya Features Correspondent
Since being diagnosed with cancer in March 2011, life has never been the same for Nyarai Musanzika of Kuwadzana Extension, Harare. An orphan and the only girl in a family of five, Musanzika (21) has no choice but to seek assistance from well-wishers to raise US$2 000 for a trip to Nigeria where she hopes to get divine intervention from Prophet TB Joshua.

Doctors at Karanda Hospital in Mt Darwin recommended that Musanzika’s cancerous leg be amputated but she refused hoping to fight against the disease.

To make matters worse, Musanzika is HIV positive.  Narrating her ordeal, Musanzika said she tried a number of treatment methods but nothing has changed. Her ailment has been worsening daily.

“I have used a number of remedies from a number of medical clinics and hospitals as well as traditional herbs but it feels as if I am just buying time towards my last breath,” she said.

Her ordeal started just after she completed Ordinary Level studies in 2011 when she discovered a growth on her right kneecap.
“I went to Karanda Hospital in Mt Darwin where I went through a number of tests to identify the cause of such an ailment.”

She added: “The treatment I received that time made me relax and I forgot to go back to the hospital to collect my results since I felt a lot better then.”

Musanzika then worked as a housemaid in Kuwadzana until she noticed other growths had developed on the same knee.
“This time around it was different and so painful as compared to the first growth. Due to such terrible pain I decided to collect the results from Karanda Hospital.”

She then went to Karanda Hospital for the results in November last year. Musanzika recalls the day the nurses told her that the knee growths were cancerous.

“I felt as if pierced right inside my chest.”
She said the news came as a shock to her since most of the people in her area believed it was “nhuta”, a common growth that is curable or disappears on its own.

A doctor who examined her on the day told her that an amputation of the infected part of the leg before the cancer spread further was the best option.

“I refused,” said Musanzika.
The thought of losing her leg so early in her life caught her off-guard.
She believed that the cancerous cells would disappear as time goes on.

“I thought the medical doctor was mistaken somehow,” she said.
According to her aunt, Monitar Zinyama, who has taken over as Mutsanzira’s guardian after she lost both her parents some few years ago, her niece was shocked when the doctors broke the news to her.

“They did not give her enough counselling about the advantages of cutting off her leg,” she said.
Zinyama believed her niece needed proper medical counselling before she received that bombshell to have her leg amputated.

“She was only 19 and so young to accept such news,” she said.
Zinyama added: “That is why until now she is still refusing to let go of her infected body part.”

The family has, however, been trying a number of treatment methods in vain.
“She got medication from Karanda Hospital, Cancer Centre in Zimbabwe as well as herbal tea and medical tablets.”

They forked out more than US$300 for herbal products while they still owe the company which supplied them about US$80 to one of the shops.
Nyarai’s cousin, Marven Musanzika, said the situation is now beyond repair.

“We now pin our hopes on divine intervention,” Marven said.
“The major impediment in the family is mixing medicines from medical and traditional remedies. We now hope for divine intervention and we are struggling to raise money for the trip to Nigeria.”

Musanzika is among the 7 000 cases of cancer recorded in Zimbabwe this year.
According to the recent Zimbabwe Cancer Registry annual report of people diagnosed with HIV-related cancer has been doubling since 2008 with over 4 000 cases recorded in 2010.

“In 2010 alone 4 520 people were diagnosed with cancer up from 3 519 the previous year and 2 718 in 2008,” the report read in part.
According to National Cancer Alliance of Zimbabwe Executive Director Dr Nelson Ngwaru, doctors only advise amputation which is a surgical removal of a cancerous limp as the best solution to avert the danger of the cancer spreading to other vital parts of the body such as lungs, bones, heart or even the central nervous system which can be fatal to the patient.

“Spiritually, there is no doubt that this could have a great impact on the patient’s health,” Dr Ngwaru said.
Meanwhile, Dr Ngwaru advised that whatever decision Musanzika makes, she has to do it fast because the greatest challenge of cancer is delaying medical intervention.

However, her condition worsens as everyday passes by but she believes her only chance is with God.
“If only well-wishers could give us some money for the trip, I would be eternally grateful,” she said.