KZN cancer crisis ‘has been dealt with’

The waiting period for patients has now been reduced from a few months to three weeks

Sibongiseni Dhlomo KZN Health MEC

THE Department of Health has declared the crisis in cancer treatment, which had plagued KwaZulu-Natal, at an end.

Both the KZN MEC for Health, Dr Sibongiseni Dhlomo, and the national Minister of Health, Dr Aaron Motsoaledi, said yesterday that the crisis, which led to extended waiting periods for treatment for seriously ill patients, had been dealt with.

It was previously reported that cancer patients were put on waiting lists for months because of broken machines and a shortage of oncologists.

Motsoaledi and Dhlomo addressed the launch of the national cancer awareness campaign in Pietermaritzburg yesterday, where more than 1000 people were tested for cervical and prostate cancer.

“The problem was not in all of KwaZulu-Natal, it was in Durban,” said Dhlomo. “In Inkosi Albert Luthuli Hospital, we had a problem of doctors leaving. It was at Addington Hospital where the situation was much more dire, as we had machines breaking and oncologists leaving.”He said the situation had improved as the machines at Addington were working and two oncologists had been employed.

“We are also waiting for another oncologist who just graduated in the Free State and will soon be joining the hospital.

“The waiting period for patients has now been reduced from a few months to just three weeks for adult patients, and there is no waiting period for children,” said Dhlomo.

Motsoaledi said Gauteng and KZN treated the most patients and KZN was the second-most capacitated province in terms of provision of the high-power linear accelerator machines, which are used to treat advanced cancer. He said a single machine can cost up to R40million and KZN had about seven of these.

He said the government is taking the fight against cancer seriously as the disease was “exploding” in the country and around the world.

Motsoaledi said the government had negotiated with the company manufacturing the Herceptin injection, used to fight breast cancer, to reduce the cost of the injection from R24000 to R6000 for patients at public hospitals.

Patients need about 17 of these.