By Michael Gwarisa
September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month where the childhood cancer community comes together to show their support for the children, young people, and families who have been affected by childhood cancer.
In Zimbabwe, Childhood cancers continue to affect children and according to the Zimbabwe Cancer Registry, common childhood cancers in the country include Acute Leukaemia also known as Blood cancer, CNS tumours or brain and spinal cord tumors, Wilm’s Tumor which affects the kidneys also known as nephroblastoma.
There is also Retinoblastoma or cancer of the eye which is one of the leading childhood cancers in Zimbabwe. Other cancers include Lymphoma or lymph node tumours, Neuroblastoma arises in immature nerve cells, Sarcoma arises in various tissues of the body including bones or soft tissues, Osteosarcoma (bone), Rhabdomyosarcoma(RMS), NRSTS and Hepatoblastoma which is liver cancer that arises in children.
Zimbabwe continues to lose children to childhood cancers every year. While the survival rate for childhood cancers in developing countries is hovering above 80%, chances of children surviving following a cancer diagnosis in Zimbabwe remain below 20% due to a myriad of factors ranging from late presentation of cases and failure to access quality care and treatment on time.
One such child who unfortunately tragically lost her life to Childhood cancer a 12 months ago was 12-year-old Chipo (Not her real name) from Mutoko. Chipo had Wilm’s Tumor or Cancer of the Kidney. It just started as a sharp pain in the abdomen area. When she told her parents, they brushed her off. They only acted when her stomach started swelling.
Before visiting a health facility, Chipo’s parents took her to several traditional and faith healers in Mtoko with the hope she would get better. While they were delaying medical assistance, the cancer was spreading. By the time she started getting help, it was too late and Chipo died.
However, another child, Donnel Mangoma (16), has a different story to tale as he has survived Wilm’s Tumor and is now back to his normal life , thanks to early cancer detection and the swift action by his parents. His mother, Duvai Muzenda narrated Donnel’s story of hope to Journalists during a Media Sensitization Workshop on Childhood Cancer hosted by Kidzcan in Harare.
Donnel was diagnosed with cancer in 2019 when he was 11 years old. He was doing Grade 6. He just started saying he is experiencing pain on his side. This is not pain he would complain about everyday. At times it would come once every week and at first I thought he had hurt himself while playing,” she said.
However, one night Donnel experienced excruciating pain and had to be taken to a 24 Hour health facility in Malbereign where they were requested to get him tested and scanned.
“When the results came out, the 24 hour health facility referred us to Parirenyatwa. I knew there and then that this was something big. At this point, my son was struggling to walk. The specialists at Parirenyatwa told us that the child needed an operation because he had schist on his right Kidney. Further tests confirmed the schist was a cancerous tumour and they had to remove one of his infected kidneys.”
Donnel stayed in hospital for weeks following his surgery. He has since returned to his usual life. He is in high school at Murehwa Mission where he participates in numerous sports disciplines including football just like any normal and healthy child would.
Charity Kawadza, a nurse with KidzCan Zimbabwe said parents should not ignore the red flags for childhood cancer as at times they may present as ordinary lumps or aches.
“We are urging parents to take note of signs and changes on their children. If you notice that your child’s eye is somehow not aligned with the other eye, or maybe it’s shiny, don’t ignore that sign it could be a sign of Retinoblastoma, a cancer of the eye. Don’t wait for the eye to bulge or when it is too late,” said Kawadza.
Parirenyatwa Paediatric Oncology, the biggest referral Childhood Cancer referral facility has been recording an increase in childhood cancer diagnosis over the past two years between 2022 and 2023. In 2023, Parirenyatwa Hospital diagnosed 47 Acute Leukemia cases against 32 cases recorded in 2022. The facility recorded 35 Wilm’s Tumor cases against 33 diagnosed in 2022. The facility also diagnosed 23 Retinoblastoma cases in 2023, an increase from the 24 picked in 2022.
Dr Patience Kuona, a Paediatric Haemato-Oncologist at Parirenyatwa said genetics was the biggest risk factor for childhood cancers in Zimbabwe
“The mechanism of cancer in children is very different from adults. Adult cancer has to do with the body which is now old and ageing and the repair mechanisms for repairing our body cells are no longer working efficiently as we grow older so we start getting cancer. However, for children, the majority of childhood cancers is linked to genetics,” said Dr Kuona.
She added that some children are born with genetic disorders that predispose them to cancer and this impairs the mechanism for cancer surveillance in the body. Some are even born with cancer as babies.
