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WE couldn’t agree more with Mrs Marry Chiwenga’s call on Government to use part of the Aids Levy to fight the scourge of cancer.

We have been beating this drum over the past five years and we are happy that some in high offices share our opinion.

Mrs Chiwenga, wife to Vice President Constantino Chiwenga, made the call during the burial of Mrs Mugwisi — wife to Zimbabwe Defence Forces spokesman Colonel Overson Mugwisi who succumbed to cancer last week.

Speaking during a church service ahead of the burial, Mrs Chiwenga urged Government to tap into the Aids Levy to fight cancer.

Cancer has emerged as the deadliest non communicable disease that is claiming millions of lives. Many people are succumbing to the scourge of cancer away from the glare of the media.

Regrettably too many of them may not know they have cancer until it’s too late, which is why early detection can be the difference between life and death.

Doctors say early detection is vital since tumours can be picked when they are still very small ensuring treatment success.

While a lot of attention has been paid to breast cancer which has a whole month dedicated to it amid estimates that one in eight women will have breast cancer in their lifetime, we feel other forms of cancer deserve attention as well.

While so much attention and resources have been channelled towards the fight against HIV and Aids, a development that saw Zimbabwe emerge as one of the success stories in Africa with an HIV prevalence rate of 13,9 percent, not much — it seems — has been done about the silent killer, cancer.

Statistics from the Ministry of Health and Child Care indicate that 7 000 new cancer cases are reported annually and 60 percent of them, according to the Zimbabwe National Cancer Registry, are HIV-related.

Of these, only some 1 300 to 2 000 are treated with radiotherapy.

Worldwide, cancer is responsible for 7,6 million deaths, two thirds of which are recorded in low-middle income countries.

A revealing study published in the International Journal of Cancer that indicated that cancer patients in Harare are not likely to survive five years after diagnosis at present levels of care, is a greater call for action.

To this end, we feel it’s high time Government and other stakeholders seriously consider giving cancer as much attention as HIV and Aids are getting.

The authorities should consider a cancer levy that can help in setting up requisite cancer support services or to subsidise the cost of treatment. The case for a cancer levy is made even stronger by revelations by the Zimbabwe National Cancer Registry that 60 percent of the cancer cases recorded in Zimbabwe are HIV-related.

This is especially so given that the requisite medicines, technologies and services are not widely available and accessible due to their high cost, resulting in a lot of premature deaths each year.

Be that as it may we also urge lifestyle intervention since about 40 percent of some cancers can be prevented by adopting healthy lifestyles and diets (increased intake of fruits and vegetables), avoiding tobacco use (smoking, chewing, and snuff) and reducing or avoiding alcohol consumption.

Screening which includes Pap Smears; Prostate Specific Antigens and Clinical Breast Examinations as well as counselling services must be made available at health centres and should be even offered for free as is done with chronic illnesses like tuberculosis.

The time to act is now.