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Transcript/ScriptUSAGM SHARE
((PLAYBOOK SLUG: ZAMBIA BREAST CANCER
HEADLINE: Zambian Authorities Say Breast Cancer Increasing in Young Women TEASER: More cases are being diagnosed at an advanced stage, complicating treatment and increasing the risk of fatality
PUBLISHED AT: 10/23/2023 at
BYLINE: Kathy Short
CONTRIBUTOR:
DATELINE: LUSAKA, ZAMBIA
VIDEOGRAPHER: Richard Kille
VIDEO EDITOR:
PRODUCER:
ASSIGNING EDITOR: Salwa Jaafari
SCRIPT EDITORS: KEnochs; Reifenrath
VIDEO SOURCE (S):VOA,Zambian Cancer Society,Ministry of Health
VOA PLATFORMS: WEB __ TV X RADIO X
TRT: 2:44
VID APPROVED BY: KE
TYPE: (TVPKG/RADIO)
EDITOR NOTES: All SOTs have been introduced so it works for radio.))
((INTRO))
[[In Zambia, authorities say breast cancer cases among younger women are on the rise. Increasingly, the cases are diagnosed at an already advanced stage, complicating treatment and increasing the risk of fatality. Kathy Short reports from Lusaka, Zambia.]]
((NARRATOR))
Dr. Catherine Mwaba is the head of the Radiation and Clinical Oncology Unit at the Cancer Diseases Hospital in Lusaka, Zambia.
Mwaba told VOA that her hospital, the only specialized cancer treatment center in the country, sees between 2,700 and 3-thousand new cancer patients each year. Many patients must travel long distances to get treatment.
Mwaba says she has noticed a disturbing trend among the hospital's breast cancer patients.
((Catherine Mwaba, Radiation and Clinical Oncology Section Head)) ((Female, in English))
“In our hospitals, we see on average about 200 to 250 new breast cancer patients. What is particularly noticeable among our patients is that they are of a young age, with an average age of 45. That’s really their productive age. The other one is that they get very aggressive types of breast cancer.”
((NARRATOR))
Mwaba says the rise in breast cancer cases among younger women could be due to many reasons, including urbanization, lack of regular physical exercise, a Westernized diet, obesity, having children late, and not breast feeding.
She adds that inadequate health insurance and follow up care and a failure to complete therapy also contribute to the increase.
Udie Favour Soko is a two-time cancer survivor. She had cancer of the lymph nodes when she was 23 and breast cancer in 2015, before her 50th birthday.
((Udie Favour Soko, Cancer Survivor)) ((Female, in English))
“I was dealing with a lot of emotions, psychosocial emotions, not so much the physical part but the emotional and spiritual part. It was a very difficult time for me.”
((NARRATOR)) ((Mandatory courtesy, Zambian Cancer Society))
Wanting to help others tackle that mental element, Soko founded the Zambian Cancer Society, a nonprofit aimed at improving the lives of the country's cancer patients.
Kazimbe Chenda is a 22-year-old kidney cancer survivor. Chenda now wants to start a conversation about living with cancer.
((Kazimbe Chenda, Activist)) ((Male, in English))
“Yes, I feel there’s a stigma because if someone who’s got cancer, they would describe cancer as having death disease, whereby if you have got cancer, they will think you would die of cancer, but actually you can live with cancer. You can just live a normal life.”
((NARRATOR)) ((Mandatory CG: Zambia Ministry of Health))
Recently, Zambia's Health Minister, Sylvia Masebo, announced plans to build two more cancer hospitals in the country to address the growing number of cases.
For now, the wards at Zambia’s Cancer Diseases Hospital are often filled to capacity, and patients may have to wait a long time before receiving potentially lifesaving treatment.
((Kathy Short, VOA News, Lusaka, Zambia))
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