Donance appeals for US$10 000

13 Nov, 2016 - 00:11 0 Views
Donance appeals for US$10 000

The Sunday Mail

Emmanuel Kafe —
Those who were ardent television viewers in and around 2001 will heartily remember the “handina kucrossa red robot, ndiri kurarama nehutachiona hweHIV” advert that was ran almost the entire length of prime time viewing on ZTV. The character behind the commercial, Donance Kangausaru, of Glen View, then was at the heart of a campaign demystifying HIV and Aids.

Then the two, HIV and Aids, had a lot of stigma surrounding them and Donance played a critical role, given his prime-time adverts, to help the country understand HIV and Aids. But as fate would have it, after surviving almost 25 years with the HIV virus, another illness has set in his life, making life unbearable. He was diagnosed with lymphoma, a form of cancer, in 2014.

Donance is swelling at the lower right eye, a swell that is fast closing his eye and has affected his nostrils and throat. In the same year that he was diagnosed, the University of Zimbabwe Oral Health Centre did an operation on the eye but after two months the cancer recurred. Lymphoma is the second most common cancer related with people living with HIV and Aids.

Besides lymphoma, people living with HIV and Aids are at high risk of developing cancers such as cervical cancer and kaposi sarcoma. The three cancers are often called “Aids-defining conditions”, meaning that if a person with an HIV infection has one of these cancers it can signify the development of Aids.

But for Donance, contrary to the popular myth that cancer is something you die from, he believes that cancer should be viewed as something you can learn to live with.

“Yes, cancer can cause death, but with breakthroughs being made in medicine, early detection of cancer has made it much more treatable,” he said in a recent interview.

The Zimbabwe National Cancer Registry Report of (2005) indicates that the HIV and Aids pandemic is contributing a lot to HIV-related cancers. For HIV-positive people with lymphoma cancer like Donance, the chance of recovery depends on a number of factors, including the stage of the cancer, the person’s age, the strength of the person’s immune system and his or her health history.

It is estimated that 40 percent of cancer patients reach or exceed the five-year survivor mark. It is also estimated that about a third of all cancers are curable and another third preventable.

After the cancer recurred on his eye, Donance was given a referral letter by the Oral Health Centre to fly to New Delhi, for further operations and treatment in India.  He was scheduled to fly to India for treatment at the end of October, but funds did not permit. “I was supposed to go to India on October 30 but I had no money, even a dollar,” he said.

He is now appealing to well-wishers, non-governmental organisations and health institutions for assistance in raising the $10 000 required for airfares to and from India, accommodation and treatment of the cancerous tumour.

Donance said he has since lost contacts with the people he worked with when he was doing the hugely popular HIV/Aids campaign otherwise he is hopeful that if he could find them, they might be able to assist him with financial assistance.

For those wishing to help Donance, he can be contacted on +263772 626 993 and his account number is 1004117782, Joina City Branch, Steward Bank.
During the recent Cancer Walk organized by Zimpapers, Donance took part and also gave a speech telling participants part of his walk and fight against HIV, Aids and Cancer.

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