Deputy Prime Minister Thokozani Khupe, herself a cancer survivor, yesterday said a new centre to be known as Thoko Cancer Foundation would open at the end of April this year.
Khupe made the disclosure during a tour of cancer facilities at Parirenyatwa Hospital in Harare to familiarise herself with the facilities’ operations.
The DPM went public about her health condition last May and pledged to set up a cancer treatment centre after realising most patients went untreated because of the prohibitive costs involved.
“As you know, I am a cancer survivor but I was treated in South Africa because there are limited facilities here. Treatment is supposed to be available and affordable.We cannot have people die due to a treatable disease,” said Khupe.
Oncologist Anna-Marie Nyakabau said Parirenyatwa needed more radiotherapy machines to cater for the increasing number of cancer patients, adding the single machine there had become obsolete.
“We are still face challenges of the radiotherapy machines as the one we have has become very expensive to maintain because it is very old, it’s more than 15 years old,” said Nyakabau.
Speaking at the same occasion, Health and Child Welfare minister Henry Madzorera said the hospital would soon receive three new radiotherapy machines while Mpilo Central Hospital in Bulawayo would get two.
