Cancer survivors share hope

Cancer is treatable if detected early, but the malignant disease is ranked the  second leading cause of death globally.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the disease caused 9.6 million deaths in 2018, representing one in every six.

The disease remains a growing concern in Malawi due to lack of early detection, treatment and palliative care.

For many people, cancer is a death warrant as the tumors are often detected too late. However, survivors personify the assurance that the disease can be cured if diagnosed and treated early.

“I was found with acute leukaemia [cancer of the blood] at the age of eight in 1992, but I have been cancer-free since 1995,” says Chikhulupiliro Ng’ombe, who founded Cancer Survivors’ Quest (CSQ), dedicated in 2011.

The charity supports cancer patients and survivors.

After diagnosing the disease, healthcare workers at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital (QECH) in Blantyre could not treat the condition due to lack of medication.

Ng’ombe overcame the condition after six months of treatment at Johannesburg General Hospital in South Africa in 1992.

Mwayi Konyani, another cancer survivor, is studying for a degree in education.

She recalls that what started as persistent stomachaches saw her being diagnosed with cancer of the ovary at Mwaiwathu Private Hospital in Blantyre on June 17 2023.

A doctor prescribed chemotherapy.

Konyani was on chemical treatment until January 14 this year when she underwent surgical removal of the right fallopian tube and ovary.

“The surgery was successful and I was pronounced cancer-free,” she says. “The period might have been short, but it was so painful that it felt like a decade.”

Similarly, Jean Pheluwa, who battled breast cancer diagnosed in 2011, urges people with cancer symptoms to urgently seek screening and treatment.

She sought medical assistance after noticing a lump in her breast, which a clinician initially brushed off as “just dry milk.”

“I returned home but was not getting any better. Later, I went to Ndirande Health Centre where a clinician referred me to QECH for further tests that revealed I had cancer.” Pheluwa had the diseased breast surgically removed on March 11 2011, but that was no end to her plight.

Check-ups conducted four weeks later revealed that the wound did not heal and the cancer had spread beyond the scar.

The doctors instantly put her on chemotherapy from 2011 to 2014, before switching to pills.

She recounts: “I couldn’t afford drugs and the Cancer Association of Malawi came to my rescue. They covered the cost of all prescribed drugs for five years.”

Pheluwa is now free from cancer, but chronic illnesses affect the farmer’s productivity.

“When I use a hoe, the breast wound bleeds,” she says.

She wishes she could venture into business.

Long illness leaves cancer survivors immobilised, unable to work and walk out of poverty.

Dalo Kagwa, who was found with cancer of the lymph nodes at the age of 20 in 2017, says the costly medication also leaves survivors poorer.

She recounts: “My left cheek was swollen for months, but I had no idea it was cancer.

“I took different drugs to get rid of the swelling, but nothing changed until my parents took me to Kamuzu Central Hospital in Lilongwe where the cancer was detected. I wept in disbelief.”

Kagwa spent six months on chemotherapy.

In 2018, doctors at the hospital confirmed that she was cancer-free.

Kagwa braved annual check-ups until 2021.

“Cancer changed the way I look at life and I now find immense joy in helping those affected by cancer,” she narrates.

According to the Ministry of Health, Malawi records over 18 000 cancer cases and 12 000 deaths annually.

However, the projected cancer burden could be underestimated due to inadequate screening services and underreporting.

According to the national cancer management strategy, only 18 percent of all reported cancers are confirmed pathologically.

The country only provides chemotherapy and palliative care for cancer clients, with a lengthening waiting list of patients referred for machine-aided radiology treatment abroad.

The cancer treatment centres taking shape in Lilongwe and Blantyre are expected to reduce the bill the government spends on international referrals for expert treatment.

The opening of the pivately-owned  International Blantyre Cancer Centre in March 2024 has brought relief to cancer patients awaiting government funding to seek specialised treatment beyond the borders.

The country’s first-ever privately-owned cancer treatment centre can handle 50 patients seeking radiotherapy and 10 on chemotherapy per day.