Leave no one behind in breast cancer fight

Andile Tshuma, Chronicle Reporter

LEAVING no one behind is the buzzword for most countries, Zimbabwe included, in relation to catapulting development and ensuring better lives for all.

No one should be left out, or left behind socially, economically and in all aspects of life in general.
A key area in which nobody should be left behind is in health care.

Access to health service is a basic human right and efforts should be made to ensure that every Zimbabwean has equal access to life saving health services.

October, the breast cancer awareness month is coming to an end, however, action should continue as statistics estimate that one in eight women will have breast cancer in their lifetime. However, the prevalence is much lower in men, with about one in a thousand men likely to have breast cancer in their lifetime.

Many in society tend to assume that breast cancer is only for the fairer sex but it is not. Although at a much lower occurrence rate, men are also not immune from breast cancer hence the third week of October is dedicated to breast cancer awareness for men annually.

Because of the rarity of male breast cancer, which accounts for less than 1 percent of all breast cancers diagnosed worldwide and for 1 percent of all cancers in their gender, men affected by breast cancer find little support in their fight against the disease.

Men are frequently excluded from breast cancer trials and, in deciding which treatments to offer, their doctors usually generalise evidence from the studies assessing therapies among women with breast cancer. Additionally, male breast cancers are often diagnosed later, when the disease is already more advanced, leading to a worse outcome.

No one is immune to cancer. While special diets, exercise and general healthier habits can help reduce chances of developing cancerous tumours by up to 40 percent, it is important for everyone to get screened once in a while.

Doctors say early detection is vital since tumours can be picked when they are still as small as four to eight millimetres, ensuring treatment success. It is however, sad that in most cases, cancer is often detected very late when it is at an advanced stage.

Recent statistics from the Ministry of Health and Child Care indicate that 7 000 new cancer cases are reported annually and 60 percent of them, according to the Zimbabwe National Cancer Registry, are HIV-related. Of these, only some 1 300 to 2 000 are treated with radiotherapy.

According to the Zimbabwe National Health Strategy 2016-2020, despite the threat of a near collapse of the health system in 2008, the health system has largely remained resilient enough to provide basic services to the majority of the people. However, challenges remain in terms of service gaps and more importantly quality of services to ensure effective coverage.

Although significant progress has been made over the last few years, the country still faces a double burden of communicable and non-communicable diseases.

The challenges are compounded by health systems constraints related to shortages of critical health workforce, ageing infrastructure and equipment, supply of medicines and other commodities, limited health funding and general challenges with the service delivery platforms and the enabling environment.

The National health strategy highlights that cancer is emerging as a major public health concern in sub-Saharan Africa and is expected to double in the next 20 years. In Zimbabwe, cancer is a major cause of morbidity and mortality with over 7 000 new diagnoses and over 1 500 deaths per year. According to WHO, cancers account for 10 percent of total deaths in Zimbabwe.

The number of people developing cancer is expected to increase due to HIV and Aids and other infections, unhealthy lifestyle choices and an ageing population.

Diagnosis of cancer induces fear both in the individual and in families, and is frequently viewed as a death sentence. Its prevention, diagnosis and treatment pose great challenges particularly in resource constrained environments.

There is reason for optimism however, as research indicates possibilities for major strides in its prevention and cure. There have been major improvements in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer, particularly in high income countries.

However, adoption of new technologies in cancer diagnosis and treatment will place substantial and diverse pressure on the already overburdened and underfunded health delivery system, and therefore requires careful planning and resource mobilisation.

If you happen to notice any of the symptoms of breast cancer, do not take them lightly, whether you are male or female. It is better to panic and seek medical attention and be told it was just a false alarm than to be brave and take it lightly only to seek assistance when it’s too late.

When breast cancer is detected early, and if adequate diagnosis and treatment are available, a life can be saved. Medical researchers say if detected late, however, curative treatment is often no longer an option.

In such cases, palliative care to relieve the suffering of patients and their families is needed.
Early detection saves lives, no one should be left behind in the breast cancer fight.