Chronicle Editor
THE Portfolio Committee on Health and Child Care was on Monday told that hundreds of cancer patients seeking treatment at Mpilo Central Hospital in Bulawayo are now stranded as all the radiotherapy machines are down.
According to the hospital management, US$80 000 is urgently needed to repair the life-saving machines.
The hospital authorities said the institution is being overwhelmed by cancer patients seeking treatment and appealed to the committee to engage the Ministry of Health and Child Care so that funds can be availed to repair the machines.
There is therefore an urgent need for Government to prioritise the repair of the machines as the lives of cancer patients are in danger. The worst affected are those already on treatment as interrupted treatment is more detrimental than not starting at all.
According to health experts, when radio therapy is used to attack cancer cells they tend to come back more aggressively once treatment is interrupted.
Four women die of cervical cancer in Zimbabwe daily and the disease burden has been worsened by high HIV prevalence. This is a very alarming figure and something must be done to bring the figure down.
What this means is that about 120 women die of cervical cancer every month and more than 1 400 every year.
The failure to repair radiotherapy machines is a major stumbling block to fighting all forms of cancers. We want at this juncture to once again implore Government to prioritise the repair of these machines meant to save lives.
The reality is that many cancer patients are dying at home and the worst affected are those that had started treatment. We also want to appeal to health partners to assist Government to avail more radiotherapy machines.
The radiotherapy treatment should be decentralised to district level so that many patients can access the services at reduced cost.
At present radiotherapy machines are only in Bulawayo and Harare and obviously the machines are overwhelmed by the numbers seeking treatment hence the constant breakdowns.
All district hospitals should have radiotherapy machines. Cancer is said to be overtaking HIV as the top killer so there is a need to provide more resources to fight cancer compared to what the country is availing to fight HIV/Aids.
The First Lady Dr Auxillia Mnangagwa has been on a crusade to educate women on cervical cancer and many women now appreciate the importance of being screened for cancer. What is disappointing is that those diagnosed with cancer are now failing to access treatment because the radiotherapy machines have broken down.
Online Reporter