Patients devastated at cancer centre’s looming closure
Mona Maharaj said the message was clear: “What’s next for these patients? Are they expected to just curl up and die?”
CANSA Newcastle volunteer, Mona Maharaj said the news of the closure of Hopelands Cancer Centre has left many patients and volunteers devastated.
The association, which offers emotional support for cancer patients, relied heavily on centres such as Hopelands to offer relief and essentially hope to oncology patients.
“Many medical schemes do not cover the full oncology treatment and patients are left to fill the gap. Added to this cost now, is the fact that patients need to travel a distance just to receive treatment,” she said.
Maharaj said having a husband who is a cancer survivor, she understood fully the plight and concerns cancer patients would have.
“The patients I have counselled do not even have knowledge of the type of cancer they were diagnosed with. They undergo operations and are sick and frail from the treatment received.”
Maharaj said the message was clear: “What’s next for these patients? Are they expected to just curl up and die?”
Lisa Strydom, Divisional Manager for Service Delivery at CANSA KwaZulu-Natal said due to the concentration of resources, patients often needed to travel to receive treatment.
“I see both sides of the situation where patients are affected, as well as the limited resources and oncologists in both the private and public sector,” she said.
A patient’s account of the Hopelands experience:
At the news of the closure of Hopelands Newcastle, a daughter of a patient who receives treatment from the clinic, approached the Newcastle Advertiser to share her story.
“During our last visit with my mom, a breast cancer survivor, we heard Hopelands was closing down. Many patients were devastated. Hopelands was not just a cancer centre, but it was family, a safe place where those who fight the battle with cancer knew they would find a qualified team who would walk the road with them and their family.”
She said the atmosphere was always welcoming considering the circumstances and accompanying her mother for treatment she saw many positive cases emitting from other patients.
“At the most vulnerable part of a cancer patient’s life, I believe it is inconvenient especially for pensioners and indigent patients who live further than Newcastle, to now travel to receive treatment,” she concluded.
For part two of this story, make sure to pick up a copy of the next edition of the Newcastle Advertiser, where we report on the oncology crisis facing KZN in the public sector.
ALSO READ: Private cancer centre to close its doors at the end of the year
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