Media Home
UN Web TV
UN Audiovisual Library
UN PhotoUnifeed
ZAMBIA / CANCER TREATMENT
STORY: ZAMBIA / CANCER TREATMENT
TRT: 2:56
SOURCE: IAEA
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: APRIL 2017, LUSAKA, LIVINGSTONE, ZAMBIA
1 Wide shot, exterior Cancer Diseases Hospital in Lusaka
2. Various shots, woman getting brachytherapy for cervical cancer at Cancer
3. Various shots, hospital entrance and corridors
4. Close up, women faces
5. Med shot, waiting room
6. Med shot, woman and girl sitting in the waiting room
7. Various shots, woman gets a mammogram at the Cancer Diseases Hospital, Lusaka
8. Close up, inner court of the Cancer Diseases Hospital, Lusaka
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Mercy Chipampe, Principal Radiographer, Cancer Diseases Hospital, Lusaka, Zambia:
“We are screening women in Zambia above the age of 40 years. So now how are we catching those women to come for screening? We are doing a lot of sensitisation programmes in the country by doing outreach programmes. Apart from the outreach programmes where we go in different areas to go and tell them the importance of having a mammogram, we are also using the media. We are using television, print media, we are also using flyers and brochures just to make sure that we reach out there to tell the people about early detection. We’ve had an overwhelming response in the last five years from the people.”
10. Various shots, exterior, Levingstone Central Hospital
11. Close up, X-rays sign
12. Various shots, X-rays facilities
13. Various shots, screening for cervical cancer at the Livingstone Central Hospital
14. Close up, sign
15. Various shots, mastectomy operation for breast cancer at the Livingstone Central Hospital
16. Various shots, Intensive care unit at the Livingstone Central Hospital
17. Various shots, Inpatient wards at the Livingstone Central Hospital
On July 19th ten years ago, Zambia opened its first specialized cancer treatment and radiotherapy centre, the Cancer Diseases Hospital (CDH) in Lusaka, which has treated over 16,000 patients.
Before the centre opened, cancer sufferers who could not afford private care had two options: they either had to join a long waiting list for treatment in Zimbabwe or South Africa or, more often, they simply died. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has played a key role in the development and operation of this hospital.
Radiation medicine is a vital component of cancer control. Procedures such as X-rays, CT scans and mammograms are used for the early detection and diagnosis of cancer. Radiotherapy can treat and manage the disease and provide substantial pain relief for patients when cure is not possible. Today the hospital’s two teletherapy machines treat over 130 patients a day.
A brachytherapy unit treats the rising number of patients with cervical cancer – the commonest cancer in Zambian woman. The centre offers mammography services for early detection and diagnosis of breast cancer.
Mercy Chipampe, like many of her colleagues, was trained under IAEA programmes. She now coaches radiographers around the country and teaches students from Zambia as well as other African countries.
She said, “We are screening women in Zambia above the age of 40 years. So now how are we catching those women to come for screening? We are doing a lot of sensitisation programmes in the country by doing outreach programmes. Apart from the outreach programmes where we go in different areas to go and tell them the importance of having a mammogram, we are also using the media. We are using television, print media, we are also using flyers and brochures just to make sure that we reach out there to tell the people about early detection. We’ve had an overwhelming response in the last five years from the people.”
The hospital needs to accommodate patients from all over Zambia and neighbouring countries. To cope with the growing demands for its services, the hospital was recently expanded to include inpatient wards.
Through IAEA support, the hospital is able to serve a teaching centre for future generations of radiotherapy technicians.
Elsewhere in the country the situation is very different. At the central hospital in Livingstone, in Southern Province, there are facilities to screen and make a clinical diagnosis of cancer and conduct surgery when needed. But there’s nowhere to treat cancer locally or even analyse samples.
Cancer patients need to make the seven-hour journey to the Cancer Diseases Hospital in Lusaka at their own cost. Many do not complete their treatment; some don’t even start. A project is now underway to open the country’s second cancer treatment centre in Livingstone. The IAEA will be supporting this expansion. A plot of land has already been identified as the location for the future hospital.
Download
There is no media available to download.
