Oncocare
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| Oncocare Cancer Treatment Centre | |
|---|---|
| Geography | |
| Location | Harare, Zimbabwe |
| Organisation | |
| Care system | Private |
| History | |
| Opened | 2016 |
| Links | |
| Website | oncocare |
Oncocare Cancer Treatment Centre is a cancer treatment clinic in Harare. Founded in 2016, Oncocare offers radiation treatment, chemotherapy and treatment support, and has a specialist cancer retail pharmacy. Its equipment includes the only digital linear accelerator in Zimbabwe. Oncocare is the only private medical institution in the country exclusively treating cancer.[1][2][3]
For years, Zimbabwe had been grappling with the shortage of cancer drugs and cancer specialists. It also lacked adequate information on the disease and a cancer policy to guide medical practitioners. The state-run hospitals in Harare and Bulawayo had provided services to cancer patients, but could not afford modern equipment and practices. The national healthcare budget of Zimbabwe is permanently strained because 15% of adult population have HIV.[4][5]
Oncocare Cancer Treatment Centre was opened in the Newlands suburb of Harare in August 2016. The initial investment was $10 million. Oncocare was the first privately run advanced cancer treatment and screening facility in Zimbabwe.[2][5]
Due to high costs related to cancer treatment, many Zimbabweans had been flying out of the country for treatment to countries such as India and South Africa. Ben Deda, the founder and CEO of Oncocare, publicly encouraged Morgan Tsvangirai, a prominent politician who had been diagnosed with cancer of the colon and had been receiving treatment in South Africa, to approach Oncocare instead of going abroad to get the same level of medical help.[1][5]
In February 2017, Oncocare asked the Zimbabwean government for a special approval to bring in foreign experts to improve cancer-related services being offered by local specialists.[6] In the same month, Donance Kangausaru, one of Zimbabwe's first men to go public about their HIV status, successfully got his eye tumor removed in Oncocare.[7]