Cancer needs to be demystified

19 Oct, 2014 - 00:10 0 Views

The Sunday News

THERE is still a need to demystify misconceptions associated with cancer as women in some communities still associate the disease with witchcraft.
This was raised during a breast cancer awareness campaign in Hope Fountain last week where some women said they were of the opinion that breast cancer was a result of witchcraft.

Ms Jinice Gondi said before she understood breast cancer, there was a general belief that it was caused by witchcraft.
“I together with many other women used to believe that when one has cancer it was probably due to someone bewitching you because we had never heard of it,” she confessed.

She said where she comes from it is common to see someone suffering from cancer but then they believe it is caused by witchcraft.
Ms Sibongile Siziba, from Hope for a Child in Christ, who was part of the team doing the awareness campaign, concurred that there was a misconception over cancer.

“Before we introduced these awareness campaigns about cancer we had women actually believing that they were victims of witchcraft and we are happy that we are getting the message through to them as they now understand the disease,” Ms Siziba said.

Ms Siziba said the issue of witchcraft is also rampant in cases to do with HIV and Aids where people still believe it is the work of evil spirits instead of seeking professional assistance.

The organisation has been working with women from villages in Hope Fountain in a bid to increase their knowledge about various cancers that women are exposed to.

Mrs Jean Clark (70), a survivor of breast cancer and the co-ordinator for Bulawayo Mastectomy Support Group, told the women of Hope Fountain that they need not to ignore unusual signs that they observe on their breasts.

“You need to ensure that they report to their health centres if they see any unusual things on their breasts as it can be cancer and the earlier it is detected the higher the chances of being treated and surviving,” said Mrs Clark.

Mrs Clark also said men should be wary of breast cancer too as they can be victims. She said they need to also conduct checks despite the fact that there are very few cases of breast cancer in men.

During the campaign which was done in four different villages it was emphasised that the issue of misconceptions to do with cancer be taken seriously as this could be occurring in many other areas of the country.

In Zimbabwe cancer is still not recognised as a major public health issue compared to ailments such as HIV and Aids, malaria and tuberculosis (TB). The reality is that cancer is now killing more people than HIV and Aids, TB and malaria combined.

The International Day of Rural Women which is celebrated worldwide on 11 October every year is an opportunity to focus global attention on the contributions and concerns of rural women, whose situations and voices are so often unheard. Health issues are of paramount importance as healthy people have the ability to work and contribute to national development.

 

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