“Initially I developed a lump under the skin just below my left breast. I did not take it seriously and thought that it was just a small infection,” said Nyakunika in a recent interview.
He noticed that the lump was growing and arguments with his wife followed. “I went to traditional healers and didn't believe that it was serious, but the lump kept growing. Eventually, I decided to go a medical doctor who did blood tests and diagnosed cancer,” he said.
He started six sessions of chemotherapy in October 2014 at Parirenyatwa Hospital. So far he has had four sessions and has two more to endure. It is an extremely painful and hard process.
“One needs money to have cancer, without money you will die. My wife accompanies me to hospital and the costs are a major challenge,” he said.
A return trip for this couple by public transport from their home in Mutasa to Parirenyatwa hospital in Harare costs them $60. Before a chemotherapy session, he has to pay $40 for blood tests to determine whether he can undergo the therapy.
In addition, they have to pay at least $30 for accommodation as well as $10 for the hospital to stamp his card. The chemotherapy drugs cost between $150 – $200 per session and $90 for the three processes that make up one chemotherapy session.
Nyakunika is unemployed and his wife Mavis has, for months, not been paid by her employer.
“It is hard to describe. Every chemotherapy session upsets my stomach. I am unable to eat for weeks afterwards and when I do eat I don't enjoy what I'm eating. I have a bubbling sensation in my abdomen and it drives me crazy,” said Nyakunika. He survives on fruit after each session.
Whole family affected
Mavis is constantly there for him. “The four times he has now been for chemotherapy, he endures it and I witness the side effects, his inability to eat or sleep and the continuous nausea. Sometimes he has no energy, he can’t walk and has difficulty breathing,” she said.
Cancer has negatively affected the whole family. “Three of our children are unable to go to college as a result of this. We just do not have enough money to cover their education as well as the treatment,” says Mavis.
This country no longer provides subsidies or free services at its hospitals to treat cancer patients.
Trevor Saruwaka, the MP for Mutasa Central constituency, where Nyakunika comes from, blamed the government for it's failure to recognise cancer as a high-priority health problem that claims the lives of thousands of citizens. “Many people are dying from this disease without being diagnosed or treated due to ignorance or failure to access medication because of the astronomical costs of cancer drugs,” he said. “It is expensive to get diagnosed and access treatment. The government and corporates need to get together, talk and develop a system where people can be helped.”
According to the national cancer register, cancer is killing more people than malaria, tuberculosis and the HIV and Aids epidemic combined.
Post published in: Health