By: Lloyd M’bwana
The former 2002 Miss Malawi Blandina Kondowe who once experienced the scourge of breast cancer is currently in a sensitization campaign drive to women within and outside Lilongwe city in a bid to provide hope and reduce deaths through mobile screening for early treatment in various health facilities.
Since 2013, through her grouping, Think Pink Malawi, of eleven passionate individuals on breast cancer, Blandina has been partnering with the ministry of health, UN Women, Press trust, Airtel Malawi, Standard Bank and National Publication Limited (NPL) in sensitization campaign through mobile cancer screening and detection for early treatment.
On Saturday, October 17, Blandina with The Think Pink initiative stormed Chiuzira Primary School ground at Area 44 in the capital Lilongwe whereby women and girls underwent screening for breast cancer and instilled with message of hope on how best the disease could be contained in reducing deaths.
“Think Pink is my brain child initiative aimed at raising awareness among women and girls to go for early check up to various health facilities on breast cancer test that once diagnosed positive one should start immediately taking treatment.
“The scourge breast cancer treatment is long, painful and difficult once a woman is diagnosed late. Through the initiative, I want fellow women and girls to embrace early test in a bid to contain further spread of the disease in their bodies. I encountered severe treatment after diagnosed with breast cancer in October 2013 which took me almost seven months to get cured and I don’t want the same to happen to others.
“This is the reason through the campaign especially to per urban areas in the city where access to information on breast cancer through modern communications technologies including Face book, Twitter, You Tube (are difficult to use due to its complexity of operation) women and girls can get directly messages on disease’ approaches”, observed Kondowe who is the senior tourism officer (Standards and Safety) in the Ministry of Information, Tourism and Civic Education.
The former Malawi Queen Brandina said the initiative is expected to flourish to other cities of the country including Blantyre, Mzuzu and Zomba with the aim to reach many women on early detection of breast cancer.
“Today’s event at Chiuzira Primary School ground, we managed to reach more than 1000 women and girls than last year as only 200 were able to go for screening in the city. Plans are underway to expand the initiative to other cities in a bid to reach many women especially in semi-urban areas. This is the reason we need more financial and material support from other corporate companies apart such that those helping us aren’t enough”, appeals Blandina.
The Maravi Post later caught up with Dr. Beatrice Mwagomba, Non Communicable Diseases (NCD) Programme Officer in the Ministry of Health on Malawi’s current status on breast and cervical cancers which are common among women and girls in Malawi as whether the nation was winning the battle.
Dr. Mwagomba said cervical cancer is the commonest killing many women in Malawi compared to breast cancer. She said currently the ministry of health does not have statistics as to how many women are living with breast cancer though it’s the fourth commonest type of cancer.
“Breast cancer is the fourth commonest type of cancer Malawi currently struggling with as such through the Think Pink initiative in collaboration with the ministry of health and Cancer Association of Malawi, the nation is heading the right direction.
“Through the initiative, more women and girls are instilled with knowledge on how personally they can detect signs of the cancer which necessitate health facilities’ visit for early treatment. The country’s referral, Cham and district hospitals have facilities for breast and cervical cancer screening and treatment as nurses have been trained to offer such services.
“The ministry is grateful to Blandina’s Think Pink Initiative as its reaching less privileged women especially in semi-urban areas through sensitization awareness campaign and mobile screening which needs more support from corporate world not only the ministry”, urges Dr. Mwagomba.
The current Ministry of Health’s statistics shows that in Malawi more than 1,600 women and girls are dying of cervical cancer with 2,300 new cases yearly while breast cancer remains unknown to many women due to late detection.
