A critical machine used in the early detection of cancer or breast diseases at Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals broke down 15 years ago, highlighting challenges besetting its cancer treatment unit.
Critical equipment breakdowns and a lack of resources severely limit Parirenyatwa’s ability to provide adequate cancer treatment, sources say.
Parirenyatwa’s chief medical officer, Tsitsi Magure, made these statements before the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Health during its visit to the public hospital yesterday.
“We are unable to offer pap smears due to a lack of lab support,” Magure said.
“Our mammography machine has been down for more than 15 years, and we have not been able to buy and replace it.”
Mammography is an X-ray imaging method used to examine the breast for early detection of cancer and other breast diseases.
Magure added: “We have three radiotherapy machines, which are very old and due for replacement. We have one machine that treats cervical cancer.
“Unfortunately, all three radiotherapy machines are not working, and we have not been able to offer radiotherapy in our unit.”
“The CT-scan machines are also down, and efforts are underway to repair them.”
She said the unit had become too small to accommodate an increasing number of cancer patients.
According to experts, cancer is set to overtake HIV and AIDS as the leading cause of de_th in Zimbabwe.
In many cases, the disease is diagnosed late, and with very few oncologists in public hospitals, most cancer patients lose their lives prematurely.
According to the Ministry of Health and Child Care, cancer remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality, with over 5,000 new cases diagnosed and over 1,500 d3aths per year.
Cancer treatment services are centralized in Harare and Bulawayo, posing challenges related to transport and accommodation costs for those requiring treatment.
SOURCE : NEWSREPORTZIM.COM
