"I Was A Moving Skeleton", Thokozani Khupe Opens Up On Battle With Breast Cancer

When I was first diagnosed in Zimbabwe, they said I had ovarian cancer which had long gone. I proceeded to South Africa. Again, they said I had ovarian cancer stage 4.

I started chemotherapy in the form of injections and tablets every two weeks. I have never been sick like that in my entire life.

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I was vomiting to the extent that I had a bucket on the side of my bed all the time. I had terrible diarrhoea to the extent that I would sometimes mess myself.

I was draining 6 litres of water every two weeks because it was filling up quickly – this water was a sign that my tumours were not responding to treatment hence they continued to generate this water.

I was like a nine-month-pregnant woman, I had difficulty breathing and walking. It took me time to turn when I was sleeping because I had to move an equivalent of 6kgs which I was carrying.

My doctor in South Africa then referred me back to Zimbabwe so that I could be under Palliative Care, which is the treatment and support you receive when one has a life-limiting illness because there is no improvement.

I later proceeded to India with the help of the government. I was so excited that finally, I was going to get the best treatment because many people were saying India was the best when it comes to cancer treatment.

I did all the possible tests and the diagnosis was once more stage 4 ovarian cancer which emanated from the breast cancer I had 12 years ago.

I started chemotherapy, I was supposed to do 18 cycles for 18 weeks. I was draining 6 litres of water every week.

After 15 cycles, my doctor in India said I was not responding to treatment because if I was responding the water was going to dry up but in my case, there was no change.

He then suggested that I rather go to the United Kingdom because the UK was advanced when it comes to cancer treatment.

They had modern medications and a lot of options and they also did clinical trials. In India, I was losing weight every day because I had difficulty eating to the extent that I was then weighing 68 kg. I was a moving skeleton.

All this is pointing to wrong diagnosis resulting in wrong treatment.

I then proceeded to the UK and did all the necessary tests, CT/PET scans, bloods and biopsies. The diagnosis was that I had Lobular breast cancer.

The doctor then said I was going to do 18 cycles of chemotherapy every week. I only drained water on 22nd December 2023 and started treatment on 9th January 2024. I never drained any water again.

It gradually drained away cycle after cycle. After the fourth cycle, the water disappeared, a sign that the medication was working perfectly well. I never had any side effects.

All this was a good example of the right diagnosis which subsequently resulted in the right treatment.

This is a clear indication that with modern technology, you are likely to get the right diagnosis and with the right diagnosis you are likely to get the right medication, hence my emphasis on state-of-the-art equipment.

I am a living example because my cancer was at stage four. I had to do 18 cycles, one every week and each cycle ranged from 2,000 pounds to 2,500 pounds every week.

I was sometimes doing blood transfusions because my haemoglobin was low all the time because of chemotherapy.

I would pay between £1,700 and £2,000. At times, I would do CT/PET scans to establish the extent of the cancer.

Whether cancer cells were being destroyed by the medication which cost £3,900, there were other costs for bloods, doctors’ fees and several others. How many people can afford this? The answer is very few…

I am saying this so that citizens must never be afraid if ever they are confronted with such a situation. I was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2011.

In 2023, I had a second cancer attack which came like a thief without giving any notice. By the time I realised it, it had spread.

With all this, I was never afraid because I knew that with God’s grace and good medical attention, all was well.

I vowed that I was never going to allow cancer to take me down. I developed this fighting spirit and I am going to fight cancer to the end until it leaves my body. I know and believe that one day, my body will be free from cancer.

This is the attitude that all those with cancer must have. I have so far gone through my first phase of treatment. I am now in my second phase of treatment but look at me, I am doing perfectly well.

The only thing with cancer treatment is that there are good days and bad days. During the bad days, side effects kick in and they are at times very unpleasant. This week is my bad week, but l am managing.

Khupe then urged fellow parliamentarians to push the government to allocate more resources towards cancer treatment and awareness programmes. She said:

I now therefore, call upon this House to: request government to immediately start and intensify cancer awareness programmes in collaboration with other organisations and foundations like the Thokozani Khupe Cancer Foundation in all the 35,000 villages in Zimbabwe and all towns so that citizens are made aware of the scourge of cancer; Implore Government to invest in state-of-the-art equipment for Mpilo and Parirenyatwa Hospitals as starting point and equip these two hospitals with modern Computed Tomography (CT) and positron emission tomography (PET) Scans, Radiation machines and all kinds of chemotherapies for all stages of cancer; and Government to further move with speed and fully fund universities so that they start, without any further delays, researching on new and modern cancer medicines.

Khupe’s motion was seconded by Southerton MP Bridget Nyandoro.

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