Alarm over late cancer detection
Ocean Road Cancer Institute acting executive director Diwani Msemo
speaks at a press conference in Dar es Salaam yesterday. He said, some
44,000 Tanzanians are diagnosed with cancer every year, but only 8,800
can be fully cured. PHOTO | SALIM SHAO
By Saumu Mwalimu, The Citizen Report
In Summary
Acting executive director of the Ocean Road Cancer
Institute (ORCI), Dr Diwani Msemo, said yesterday that the situation is
highly attributed to late detection of the disease as many hospitals
lack special scanning machines for detecting cancer.
Acting executive director of the Ocean Road Cancer
Institute (ORCI), Dr Diwani Msemo, said yesterday that the situation is
highly attributed to late detection of the disease as many hospitals
lack special scanning machines for detecting cancer.
Dr Msemo said that myths that cancer is not a
curable disease or operation related to cancer lead to the spread of the
disease have also contributed to a tendency of people hiding their
cancer condition until it gets out of control.
Briefing journalists on October 12th charity walk
organised by his institute and its partners to raise fund for breast
cancer awareness, Dr Msemo said that in developed countries 80 per cent
of those diagnosed with cancer very early stand a good chance to survive
while in Tanzania only 20 per cent survive.
He said that since the vast majority of those
found with cancer didn’t go to hospital early, it became difficult to
treat the disease. However, professionally, cancer is curable, said Dr
Msemo.
Dr Msemo added, although Tanzania is among a few
countries in the world to have free cancer treatment, it needs to
conduct more campaigns and step up efforts geared to scale down cancer.
as those given the HIV/AIDs because the disease is growing and more people are dying.
“We have several challenges including the luck of
funds to buy diagnosis machines, chemotherapy medicine and other medical
staffs that force the patients to wait up to six weeks to being
diagnosed of getting chemo,” he said.
He added although in Tanzania, cervical cancer
claims more lives compared to other types, but 511 women are diagnosed
with breast cancer every year and the number is rising.
The walk “Pink Sunday Funwalk” will be graced by
the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare Dr Seif Rashid will start at
that Kunduchi Beach Hotel aims at raising Sh130 million.
By citizen
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