What are these therapies and what packages of care are available to patients?
There are three therapies which, depending on the stage of the cancer, can be either used together or separately. These are surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy. A joint MSF and Ministry of Health medical team provide chemotherapy sessions in Point G Hospital’s oncology and haematology departments.
In 2020, we provided a total of 3,000 sessions. We have also refurbished a room for preparing chemotherapy to improve safety standards. And, when the government runs short of drugs, we supply them so that patients have access to free treatment. We also pay for patients to have surgery in Point G and in Gabriel Touré hospitals, as it’s essential they’re able to initiate treatment as quickly as possible. Beating the disease is a race against time.
Radiotherapy, which is often used to treat breast and cervical cancers, is available in Mali Hospital. The hospital has Mali’s only radiotherapy machine, and as the country has a population of over 20 million, it isn’t enough to treat all patients. Waiting times can be long and breakdowns are common.
It should also be pointed out that radiotherapy can’t be interrupted because the effects can be more harmful than if the patient had never started it.
What are the next steps for the oncology project in Mali?
Palliative care, pain management, psychological and social support, care of malignant wounds – including in the home – continue to be an important part of our work with patients.
We plan to do even more to inform women and their families of the importance of getting screened and the different treatment options available to them. We also need to increase systematic breast and cervical cancer screening in routine medical consultations. We now want to go farther afield than Bamako and set up similar activities in the country’s other regions.
Building multidisciplinary cancer care with Mali’s health authorities, associations and civil society, and facilitating patients’ access to treatment pathways, radiotherapy in particular, are set to be the priority for the next few years.
As part of the project, 166 women were diagnosed with breast cancer and 126 with cervical cancer between January and June 2021. Since the beginning of the year, MSF teams have provided over 1,110 patients with support and palliative care. Services include home visits, psychological and social support for patients and their families, and mental health consultations.