Khupe this week said she intended to save many lives through the initiative. “The foundation will make sure that women have access to checkups because early detection of cancer saves lives.
We will also make sure that women have access to treatment and information. Right now, some of us are going to South Africa for treatment, not because we want to go there, but because there are no facilities here. This must change,” said Khupe.
The Deputy Prime Minister is battling breast cancer. She wanted to set up a cancer foundation with the late musician Tongai Moyo, but Moyo unfortunately passed away before the pair could achieve their dream.
Khupe is going about this the wrong way, its understandable how emotional the whole ordeal has been for her.Khupe should understand that this condition is not new to Zimbabwe and there are thousands of other women in Zimbabwe who have all kinds of cancer including the type she has been suffering from.This foundation idea shows the type of disorganisation typical of the current leadership in Zimbabwe. If she had done here research into cancer awareness, diagnosis and treatment in Zimbabwe she would have come to the conclusion that the reason why she embrassingly as one of the top 5 leaders in Zimbabwe has to get treatment in South Africa and not at Parirenyatwa hospital is because her government has done nothing and is doing nothing to to stop this embarassing situation. Parirenyatwa hospital had a very specialised unit to deal with cancers which was run by some of the best Oncology(study of cancer)Consultants in the world. There are specialised labs( Histopathology labs) at Parirenyatwa hospital where tissue samples(biopsies) are tested to see if there are cancer cells growins in any type of tissue such as skin, breast, ovary, brain etc. This lab was run by some of the world’s best Biomedical scientists(specimen analysis) and Consultant Histopathologists(tissue study). The only issue was access to cancer drugs once patients had been found to have cancer, this was the main challenge which Zimbabwe had in cancer management. What Khupe needs to do in her position and in light of her experience with living with cancer is to fight for the revival of this Oncology(cancer study)unit at the central hospitals. She needs to take Dr Madzorera( Min of Health) to task regarding the current state of affairs at Zimbabwe’s biggest hospital, Parirenyatwa. About a decade ago Parirenyatwa hospital was capable of diagnosing and managing any type of illness. Breast cancer is not a new condition, to highlight awareness of this condition is a good thing but for Khupe to target this condition alone is not a good idea, but simply an emotional one which misses the bigger picture.