By PASSY HAACHIZO –
THE Cancer Hospital at the University Teaching Hospital (UTH) has attended to more than 2,000 cases in the last 12 months, with the majority of them involving women.
Cancer Hospital director Kennedy Lishimpi said in an interview during the week that 60 per cent of those cases in 2014 involved females.
Dr Lishimpi said cervical cancer was the most common at 30 per cent rate followed by breast cancer which accounted for 12 per cent.
There were also Kaposis Sarcoma cancer, head and neck cancer as well as Lymphomas which were equally recorded.
Dr Lishimpi disclosed that modern equipment would be introduced this year at the hospital in a bid to enhance service delivery in the treatment of cancer.
The hospital was currently training students in radiotherapy in order to efficiently tackle cancer diseases at the institution.
“We have trained nine students in the first phase and in the second phase 10 students were undergoing radiography training,” Dr Lishimpi said.
In addition, two doctors are currently being trained in radiotherapy in South Africa as well as five more that are studying oncology.
“Last year, four students completed some studies in Johannesburg, and two nurses are doing their masters degree in science, there is also one biomedical technologist who is in fourth year in clinical engineering degree,” he said.
Dr Lishimpi advised members of the public to visit the hospital because cancer was curable if treated in its early stages.
He, however, noted that the national cancer screening programmes was yet to reach all parts of the country.
The cancer hospital opened in 2006 following a growth in the number of cancer patients in Zambia who had to be treated abroad at a cost to the State.