In an interview on Friday, Head of Health Infrastructure Development in the Ministry of Health Dr. Sanderson Kuyeli said currently medical personnel at the facility are undergoing a series of training on the operation of the radiotherapy machines.
He said the centre is designed to offer services such as cancer surgery, radiotherapy and brachytherapy, chemotherapy and hormonotherapy, diagnostic and pathology and palliative care. Currently, the facility is offering chemotherapy services only.
“The plan was to start offering radiotherapy services in December last year, but the machines arrived later than anticipated, so this led to shifting everything ahead. The other reason is that the machines are more complex and require a series of trainings for the operators.
“Radiotherapy treatment will be facilitated by two different machines, namely the Cobalt-60 machine and the Linear Accelerator (LINAC) machine. Each machine is capable of providing treatment to 40 patients per shift, with a single shift lasting eight hours. When the third machine is commissioned, the capacity will also increase,” Kuyeli explained.
He added that lives are being lost because there is limited access to the radiotherapy services in the country, saying this will be the first radiotherapy centre in the country.
Kuyeli also said the centre will focus on at least nine kinds of cancer, such as cervical cancer which accounts for 24 percent of all cancers in Malawi, Kaposi’s sarcoma which makes up 18 percent of cancer cases, prostate, urinary bladder, breast and esophageal cancer, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma cancer, childhood and skin cancer.
He further said the centre has six trained oncologists, three medical physicists, 18 radiation technologists, 42 nurses, including three specializing in pediatrics, four nuclear technologists and three lab technicians and that the medical professionals have been undergoing a series of trainings and last phase of such trainings are underway on the machines. “In the next financial year, plans are to construct more wards including the private wings. Government will also construct a hostel and guardian shelter. Discussions are also at an advanced stage for the regional cancer centres to be situated in Mzuzu and Blantyre in order to serve the people of Malawi better,” he added.
According to Kuyeli, the estimated annual new cancer cases in Malawi are at 15,349 (9,383 women and 5,966 men).
Commenting on the matter, Maziko Matemba, a health expert, said the starting of radiotherapy services in February will be a sigh of relief to cancer clients as well as Malawians.
He said the starting of the services will also help the country in serving forex which is used when sending cancer patients outside the country for treatment.
Government spends US$15,000 (slightly over K25 million) for every cancer patient to access treatment outside the country, and that excludes air ticket and accommodation for the patient and guardian.
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