Gweru, (New Ziana) – The Gweru City Council has embarked on free breast and cervical cancer screening as part of month-long commemorations this month to raise awareness of the deadly.

Council spokesperson, Vimbai Chingwaramusee said the campaign started on Tuesday with the screening of its workers.
She said the exercise will continue and involve screening of the public until 30 October.

Chingwaramusee said the aim is contributing to early detection of cancer to save lives.

“Early detection saves lives. If cancer is detected, at a later stage it spreads like a veld fire so early detection helps people to find ways to ease the spread of cancer. Together, we can beat cancer by early detection and employing measures to stop the spread,” she said.

Chingwaramusee said the screening would be done for two days at Mkoba Polyclinic, Mtapa and Mkoba 1, while Senga Clinic and Gweru Provincial Hospital will have one day for screening.

Out of 2 062 recorded cancer related deaths so far in Zimbabwe, breast cancer has been responsible for seven percent of the fatalities, with cervical cancer being the highest killer accounting for 13 percent of the deaths.

Zimbabwe’s Cancer Association says breast cancer alone is claiming more than 1 000 women every year in the country.
New Ziana