GOVERNMENT must urgently invest extensively in cancer research focusing on prevention, treatment and care of patients in order to address the growing cancer crisis, which is claiming thousands of lives annually, a leading health advocacy group has said.
Also proposed, is the subsidisation of cancer treatment either partly or fully, making it free or affordable to ensure that every citizen can access care without financial difficulty to enable the attainment of health equity. The current high cost of cancer treatment remains a stumbling block to many as they vary between US$150 and US$1 000 per session, essentially excluding most of the poverty-stricken Zimbabweans from getting treatment.
This calls for a subsidy for cancer treatment to ensure health equity.
Community Working Group on Health executive director, Itai Rusike, says government should declare cancer a public health emergency so that increased funding can be channelled towards stemming the scourge that has caused unnecessary human suffering and avoidable deaths. He called for increased targeted funding from the national fiscus accompanied by a massive community awareness drive to increase knowledge and douse the fears, myths and general misconceptions associated with the disease.
“Cancer is now a humanitarian disaster that needs urgent State intervention,” Rusike said. “We need to put more resources into research, treatment and care of patients and we should also make sure we raise awareness in different communities if we are to end this scourge.”
His clarion call comes as the world commemorates the breast cancer month of October, a time to remind governments and other health service providers to seriously consider other ways they can assist patients and families in the prevention, early detection and treatment of the deadly non-communicable disease.
Breast cancer is the second most common cancer among women after cervical cancer. Cancer of the breast, although it is mostly associated with women, also affects men.
According to the Zimbabwe National Cancer Registry (ZNCR), the country recorded 7 841 cancer cases in 2018. Of the total cases, breast cancer accounted for 8%, cervical cancer 21%, prostate 11% and the rest included many other types of cancers. Of the 2 743 cancer deaths recorded that year, breast cancer accounted for 7%, cervical 13% while prostate cancer accounted 10%.
However, it is widely believed that these known statistics are just a tip of the iceberg as many cancer patients are not recorded as they do not present for treatment at conventional health facilities and several of the deaths are not registered.
