Zimpapers Logo

Thandeka Moyo-Ndlovu, Senior Health Reporter
ON Wednesday, Ms Sifiso Nyoni (60) received her last dose of chemotherapy treatment to ease the excruciating pain she has been enduring ever since she was diagnosed with cervical cancer in 2020.

She is part of the hundreds of Mpilo Central Hospital cancer patients who have failed to access the lifesaving radiotherapy at Mpilo since the machine, one of the three available in public institutions, has been down.

Ms Nyoni was told her cancer condition was at stage three in December 2020.

The widowed vegetable vendor from Bulawayo’s Mabutweni suburb spent the following six months saving every cent she had to start on the radiotherapy as she had chances to get treatment.

A few weeks after her diagnosis, when she had done all the scans and tests necessary to have her start the treatment, the machine broke down and ever since no one has accessed radiotherapy from Mpilo.

When the unit was officially opened on April 7, 2017 — 17 years after its closure, the public was guaranteed or so they thought, that the additional treatment costs they incurred travelling out of Bulawayo would be over.

Patients like Ms Nyoni have concluded that the frequent breakdown of the machine has condemned them to death, as they cannot afford to get the treatment elsewhere.

Radiotherapy treatment uses high doses of radiation to kill cancer cells and shrink tumours and it also damages the DNA within cancer cells.

Health experts say radiotherapy is the only effective way to treat cervical cancer, which accounts for more than a third of cancers from the southern region that covers Bulawayo, Masvingo, Midlands, Matabeleland North and Matabeleland South provinces.

Cervical cancer, one of the easiest cancers to treat, is fast overtaking HIV as a killer disease and more than three quarters of women who present to Mpilo have stage three cancers.

At this stage, the cancer would have advanced so much that it is virtually incurable. Cancer patients should access treatment regularly to stop the cells from multiplying, which often leads to difficulties in treatment or death.

Chronicle caught up with the distressed Ms Nyoni who must travel to Parirenyatwa to start radiotherapy in a few days before she succumbs to cervical cancer, which kills four women daily in Zimbabwe, according to estimates.

“I don’t have any friends and relatives in Harare for starters and have just realised that I may as well stay at home and await my fate because there is no way I will make it to Parirenyatwa, which has a functional radiotherapy machine on time,” she said.

“This Mpilo machine has been down for more than a year and now some of us are likely to die of cancer before our time because of such negligence.”

Should Ms Nyoni go to Harare, she needs accommodation for six weeks, food, money for additional tests and scans.

“All this has led me to conclude I have been condemned to die. I can’t afford that and although I made it clear that I would wait for the machine when I was diagnosed, 13 months down the line nothing has been done and I know that cancer has progressed,” she said.

A majority of cancer patients who could not access radiotherapy outside Mpilo were initiated on chemotherapy, which experts say only eases pain but is less effective in treating some cancers compared to radiotherapy.

Chemotherapy is the treatment of cancer using anti-cancer or cytotoxic drugs. It may be given with a curative intent, or it may aim to prolong life or to reduce symptoms.

“It took me months to raise US$250 needed for one cycle of chemotherapy and now that I have taken all six, I must do radiotherapy as a matter of urgency,” said Ms Nyoni.

“I’m waiting to have my last dose and doctors have indicated that I should proceed to Harare for radiotherapy.”

Ms Nyoni says cancer treatment should be made free just like HIV and be easily accessible so that ordinary Zimbabweans like herself can fully enjoy their right to life.

For Mr Kelvin White (33) who travels about 100km every three weeks to Mpilo, says a cancer diagnosis is equal to a death sentence.

The Shangani-based lung cancer patient says his unemployed mother has to part with US$200 to control the excruciating pain he has lived with for two years.

“I stay in Shangani with my unemployed mother who is struggling to provide US$200 I need every three weeks for treatment. Due to my condition, I can’t look for employment to at least fend for myself as old as I am,” he said.

“I live on liquids as my body cannot process solids and this is expensive and unsustainable hence, I sometimes just have one meal per day.”

Mr White, who struggles to speak clearly, also advocates for free cancer treatment policy for public health centres so as to save many lives citing that most of those affected barely afford to buy the medication or access radiotherapy services.

“I sometimes fail to sleep due to pain and since this machine is still down, I am not even sure if I will live to benefit from it,” he said.

“Ours is a sad story and sometimes we cannot even afford to buy the recommended foods to help us keep healthier and live longer than our prognosis.”

Another patient, Mrs Tabitha Ngwenya (78) said she was lucky to have children who contribute forex for her to buy her cancer treatment monthly.

Her diagnosis came last year in December when doctors discovered she had cancer cells after draining six litres of fluid from her lungs.

She suffered from pleural effusion, which is the build-up of fluid and cancer cells that collects between the chest wall and the lung.

“As a senior citizen, I’m not even benefiting from the free health services because machines are ever down here at Mpilo including scans, X-rays. I can’t keep up with charges from the private sector,” she said.

Mrs Ngwenya urged authorities to ensure the Bulawayo cancer unit was functional always to save more lives and avoid congestion in Harare.

Contacted for comment, head of radiotherapy at Mpilo Dr Tatenda Chingonzoh said all efforts have been put to have the machine fixed.

“We write about three or four referrals per week for cancer patients who can afford to go to Harare since our machine broke down last year in January,” she said.

“This is just a small fraction of the people in need because a majority end up taking chemotherapy and those who cannot afford stay at home and wait for their fate,” said Dr Chingonzoh.

“Some patients have opted for chemotherapy while waiting for the radiotherapy, which only buys more time and not really address the main problem.”

She said chemotherapy drugs were rather less effective as the cost can also be prohibitive as drugs are not affordable to the general person. Those who delay treatment once diagnosed are at a danger of having their cancers progress, which makes them impossible to treat, said DR Chingonzoh. — @thamamoe