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Mwaoneni Mupungi

Leroy Dzenga: Features Writer

After her husband’s passing on in 2012, 46-year-old Mwaoneni Mupungi of Waterfalls in Harare vowed to ensure that her two children remain well provided for. Through doing menial jobs in her neighbourhood, the void her departed spouse left was hardly noticeable to the outside world.For two years she provided for her children without any difficulty until an unexpected health complication slowed her down. In 2014, Mupungi realised that the lump she had neglected on her right breast was growing in size causing her increased discomfort.

“I was diagnosed with cancer in 2014 on my right breast, but the lump was there since 2009. I used to feel it but always paid little attention to it because it was small,” she said.

The lump grew rapidly between May and August 2014 and doctors suggested urgent mastectomy surgery to save her life.

“After I found out that I had cancer on my right breast, I learnt that I had to undergo surgery to stop the cancer from spreading to other parts of my body,” Mupungi described the beginning of her fight.

The initial process needed $900, which she struggled to pay. The operation only went ahead when her church colleagues assisted her. When the operation was done, she was to undergo further chemotherapy treatment to completely kill the cancer root.

“When I went to Parirenyatwa Hospital to enquire about the chemotherapy, I was told a single session costs $580 and that I had to undergo six sessions,” she said.

Upon noticing that the chemotherapy costs were too high, and her income was not elastic to that degree, Mupungi approached the department of social services seeking assistance.

The department did not give her any plausible response until in October this year, when they called her to inform her that they would be assisting her with 50 kilogrammes of maize every month.

After her operation, in which she lost her right breast, she thought that her woes were nearing their end. Finances proved to be the impediment between herself and full recovery as her failure to fulfil the chemotherapy commitment proved costly to her.

“The operation wound started swelling and in January 2015, the lumps I used to feel returned, this time bigger. They continued to grow until May 2016 when they ripped open, leaving a big open wound which has been giving me problems up to now,” she said.

For a person who survives on providing physical labour, her predicament proved a new challenge to her already bad situation as she was warned against aggravating the injury.

“The doctor told me not to carry anything that weighs more than five kilogrammes. This means I cannot go to work in fields to provide for my family,” said Mupungi.

Her children are still in school; the elder girl is in Form Three and the last born boy is in Grade Six.

She says despite the physical pain, her biggest source of agony is in trying to ensure that she pays rent at her lodgings.

They have also been relying on well-wishers for food and basics, a situation Mupungi believes would not have existed if she was in good health.

“Over the last months, the wound has been painful and I am unable to do any work. As I am talking to you, I have not paid rent for the past three months and I am worried about how I am going to be able to pay for my rentals,” she said.

Recent days have been particularly difficult for Mupungi who is also asthmatic.

“At night I get to a point where breathing gets difficult. I am asthmatic and at night it feels like something is blocking my windpipe. I only manage to sleep between 3:30 and 5am when the temperatures would have subsided,” a teary Mupungi narrated her ordeal.

Mupungi says she regrets ever signing up for the surgery as it seems it did nothing to alleviate her situation.

“I opted to live without my breast because the pain was unbearable and I wanted relief. It hurts that my choice has created more problems for me and my family when I thought I was doing the right thing,” she said.

Mupungi says her daughter is the most affected by her condition.

“My eldest daughter in Form Three has been the most troubled. I always pray that God strengthens her. She is the one who applies medication to my wound and helps me wash it. I feel she is too young to be dealing with such problems,” Mupungi said struggling to hold back tears.

She says although she has accepted her condition and learnt to live with it, her mind is occupied with her children’s plight in the event of the unfortunate.

“My children’s education is very important and my wish is that they are able to afford a good life so that they can fend for themselves, should anything happen to me,” she said breaking into tears.

In her quest for relief, Mupungi says she has visited multiple faith healers and has used a lot of herbs but they have not been of much help.

Her prospects of recovery was disturbed when an operation process meant to heal her seemed to have plunged her deeper into more complications.

End of October, she got in contact with a medical centre in Newlands which offered to assist her with medication.

“Someone suggested that I visit the medical centre in Newlands, and they gave me pills called Tamoxifen. They said I should drink them for three months to see how I respond to them,” she said.

She will be receiving the pills for free for three months and then she starts paying for them.

The doctors administering the pills to her said the chemotherapy she was told to undergo after her initial operation was not necessary as she was supposed to go on Tamoxifen immediately after.

“Besides the fact that they make me drowsy, the Tamoxifen manage to ease the pain and I am now able to sleep better at night. My pressing worry at the moment is that the wound does not seem to be healing,” Mupungi said.

While Mupungi does not prefer being dark over the state of her wound and her sternum, the exorbitant test costs mean that she won’t have a full picture anytime soon. She holds on to hope that her current situation, through medication and prayer, will turn to a battle victory against cancer, enabling her to provide for her children.

Her only ray of hope at the moment is continuing with the Tamoxifen medication which has helped others who were once in her situation.

According to the World Health Organisation, 58 percent of breast cancer deaths happen in developing countries.

This is because often resources are inadequate to oversee breast cancer’s total treatment, which is achieved through an expensive process. Those willing to help Mwaonei can do so through the banking details below:

Account Name : Mwaoneni Mupungi

Bank: Steward Bank

Account Number : 1005557767

Feedback: [email protected]