Marondera nurse addresses ex-legislator and healer’s congregation on cancer awareness

By Auther Chimbgwa

An oncology and palliative care nurse at Marondera General Hospital has enlisted former Marondera legislator and spiritual healer, Lawrence Katsiru to create awareness on the need for people to go for early cancer screening at health care centres across the country in a move he hopes would substantially curtail the high number of cancer deaths in Zimbabwe.

Speaking on Friday at the former MP’s church shrine attended by hundreds of congregants of the Johanne Masowe Echishanu sect in Yellow City, Marondera, the health practitioner Rodwell Makoni said cancer is claiming approximately 30 percent of the world’s population annually, making it imperative to create more awareness around its devastating effects and how to thin out associated deaths.

Makoni had asked Katsiru to visit his church and talk to his congregation about the subject since his church commanded a huge following coupled with that the former lawmaker was renowned for his abilities to heal cancer patients who have sought his services at his Shrine before.

“Cancer is proving to be deadly and has leapt to become one of the major killers globally,” Makoni said.

“I therefore would like to urge you to regularly go for cancer screening if this trend is to be nipped in the bud.”

He specifically pointed out that among a variety of cancers that afflicted human beings cervical, breast and prostrate cancers are among the most cancers that had decimated cancer patients around the world, Zimbabwe being no exception.

“Cervical, prostrate and breast cancers are among some of the most common cancers that are claiming tens of thousands of lives in Zimbabwe. These types of cancers have also impacted fatally on the population world-wide. “

Makoni spoke at length on ways to reduce this lethal disease, noting that people ought to detect the disease whilst it is still in its infancy if it is to be successfully cured.

“The most effective way in which cancer can be successfully cured is to detect it whilst it is still in its early stages. This can be done should people visit health care centers such as clinics and hospitals in this country and ask to be screened for the deadly disease.

“For instance, if a woman comes early for screening, it is found out that she has cervical cancer, which by the way is rife among women only, the cervix can either be partially cut or removed completely. But if this cancer would have progressed to critical levels, which is stage 4, the disease becomes terminal and the woman in question is placed on palliative care,” Makoni said.

He thus urged people to go in strength for screening in the cases of prostrate and breast cancers as well. Prostrate cancer affects men only whilst breast cancer is found among both men and women.

People who are immuno-compromised like those afflicted by HIV, he added, can do this once per year whilst those who do not have chronic diseases can go once in every three years if lives can be substantially saved in Zimbabwe.

“The 30 percent of the global population that this disease is killing annually world-wide can be tantamount to the entire southern African population, and you can see that this is indeed massive,” lamented the health practioner.

Katsiru also alluded to the fact that he was successfully healing some cancer patients by praying for them, notwithstanding the stage the disease would have reached.