Thousands screened for cancer in Makoni

Source: The Herald – Breaking news.

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Lovemore Kadzura

THOUSANDS of villagers in Makoni West Constituency have benefited from a free cancer screening and education programme being spearheaded by the Member of House of Assembly Dr Jenfan Muswere and his partners.

The partners include Rosemary Foundation, Kidzcan, Cancer Association of Zimbabwe and Ministry of Health and Child Care.

The programme, targeting men, women and children, was launched at Matsika Primary School, where Rosemary Foundation founder Ms Rosemary Shumbahuru did her primary education.

Dr Beverly Mataga, from Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals, encouraged people of all ages to take advantage of the outreach programme to be screened in order to be treated early before the disease causes further damages in their bodies.

“We need to have more programmes of this nature where we make our people aware and understand diseases such as cancer. People must desist from risky behaviours such as smoking to minimise the chances of getting cancer.

“People must also be knowledgeable about cancer symptoms so that they are able to seek medical attention early enough when the disease can be cured. Cancer is now among the leading causes of death in Zimbabwe for both men and women. Prevention is key in fighting cancer, and there are vaccines that can be administered to young people before they are sexually active.

“Women must be screened against cervical cancer and treated early. Women, both living with HIV and those negative, are being affected by cervical cancer. Cancer affects us all and at community level, and we should encourage each other to be proactive.

“As a country we must reach a stage whereby we have a cervical cancer free generation, and this is possible through screening and early treatment. The Government has cancer programmes that should be utilised across health centres. Cancer can be treated if detected early so we encourage people to be screened regularly,” said Dr Mataga.

Ms Shumbahuru said she was motivated to bring the programme to the area that brought her up as special appreciation. She added that the programme will spread across Makoni district so that more people are taken on board.

“I have brought the Cancer Association of Zimbabwe and Kidzcan so that they screen people for this disease, and also teach them how to detect cancer and seek early treatment. We are targeting all ages for screening and those with detected cancer will be referred further for treatment.

“Kidzcan is screening up those below 18 years while Cancer Association of Zimbabwe has no age limit. Cancer screening and treatment has been lacking in rural areas, and that is why we took the initiative to bring the programme to Makoni West before spreading it across the district.

“We targeting 4000 people in Makoni West that are going to be screened for free, including school children. The programme has been well received as evidenced by this high turnout. I am doing this as a way to give back to the community that raised me. I learnt philanthropy from my former employer, who used to pour huge resources to Cancer Association of Zimbabwe,” said Ms Shumbahuru.

Chief Chiduku applauded the Government, Dr Muswere and his partners for conducting the cancer outreach programme in his area.

He said the programme will go a long way in reducing and combating cancer cases.

“We used to hear of such programmes being done in other areas, but now we have been privileged to experience it. The initiative has been an eye opener to my people as they have been encouraged to undertake early cancer screening. The information disseminated today is key and the actual screening done has helped a lot of people,” said Chief Chiduku.