Cancer cases rise dramatically
House Acacia now open full time
With numbers increasing exponentially, the Cancer Association must do all it can to ensure patients are not left behind.
In the run-up to International Cancer Day which is celebrated on Sunday, the chief executive of the Cancer Association of Namibia (CAN), Rolf Hansen, says that cancer treatment must be decentralised to serve the majority of Namibians more efficiently. "The decentralisation of cancer care will be a highlight for all of us - it will make our work so much easier. The reality is more than 60% of our country's population lives north of Otjiwarongo. So we have to sit around the table somewhere and ask ourselves why we are sending busloads of people to Windhoek when we can use Oshakati, Onandjokwe, Tsumeb, Rundu and Katima Mulilo to keep the people in the north and treat them efficiently there. Then they don't have to be so far and long from their families - that's the next step," he says. Hansen says an alarming increase in cancer cases has contributed to the fact that CAN's interim home in Windhoek, House Acacia, will now be open seven days a week. It was previously only open from Sunday afternoons to Friday mornings. "The Labor Act stipulates how long and how many days per week a member of staff may work. We implement a wider and stronger rotation system so that no one is exploited. We also work more closely together as a team to ensure that everyone does their part and that no one is left behind. However, we need to hire additional staff." According to Hansen, long waiting lists for consultations and cancer treatment also hinder the effectiveness of cancer treatment in Namibia. "When a patient comes from outside Windhoek, they have to stay somewhere and they have to eat. The faster they receive treatment, the faster we can get them back to their families. However, if the waiting list just to see a doctor is two weeks and radiation even six to eight months, we are never going to get through these patients. Why do we send all the patients from rural areas to Windhoek if we can't help them quickly enough anyway?" Hansen says all players must work together to provide effective care to cancer patients. "All the players must work together - it is not the ministry or the Cancer Association that is right or wrong - we are all a piece of the puzzle that creates the bigger picture," he says. Covid aftereffects After the World Health Organisation's (WHO) report last year revealed that, among other things, cancer patients did not have access to the necessary treatment during the pandemic, Hansen says that other factors brought about by the pandemic may still play a role in the increasing cancer rates. "In the last decade, the disease has exploded and we see, especially with the trauma, isolation and stress that Covid-19 has caused, that many more people are diagnosed and more people need support. "Covid-19 had a huge impact on the economy. Many people lost their jobs and were already older. They lost their medical coverage and now cannot get medical coverage again. We get an incredible number of people applying for financial support," he says. "I think what has happened recently as a result of Covid-19 is that the main focus has been placed on the immediate diagnosis as well as to ensure that people do not die, that all other diseases - not just cancer - have been pushed aside. What is starting to happen now are the consequences of the action." The WHO already said in a report in 2022 that post-Covid cancer care will hit low- and middle-income countries the hardest. Money collection "We're just going to have to sell more pancakes," Hansen says tongue in cheek in response to questions about CAN's plans to accommodate cancer patients. He says CAN is still offering its normal fund-raising projects and the association will henceforth charge a rate at House Acacia and the palliative care unit that will soon open its doors. "If there is someone who cannot pay it, we will see if we can help, and many times patients will say they don't have the money, but they can donate a sheep or vegetables," he says. Hansen also has high hopes for this year's Bank Windhoek Cancer Apple Project. "We have been stuck at the N$2 million mark for the last two years. We need to pass the N$3 million mark now to be able to provide essential services. We simply have to carry on. Our outreach programs must continue, we must continue to test and we must continue to help. We simply have to find alternative ways to do all this." – [email protected]