Genzeb* is a 45 year old woman with cervical cancer which was diagnosed 4 years ago. She received radiotherapy as surgery was not an option. Since receiving radiotherapy she has become incontinent and has radiation induced colitis (damage to the large intestine)**. 3 weeks prior to our visit she had received a 2 unit blood transfusion at the Black Lion Hospital, as the colitis had resulted in her being anaemic.
She was prescribed mesalazine suppositories to try and reduce the rectal bleeding. These are expensive, so her brothers and sisters pay for these as she is unable to afford them. She also has metronidazole vaginal douches to reduce the odour from her tumour. She receives a monthly grant from the Tewolde Medhane Comfort Fund, food support and sanitary products.
Genzeb is divorced and lives alone in a ‘condominium’. These are flats built by the government which are rented but can then be bought. Genzeb’s father had bought their flat but had died 10 months previously. There is now disagreement between Genzeb, who had lived with and cared for her father, and her 6 siblings about who owns the flat.
Genzeb follows the Christian Orthodox Tawahido religion and is part of a group of a spiritual and community support group with 12 members (Tsiwa). The group meets monthly to honour a saint, sharing a meal and engaging in prayer and singing. The small shrine in her house rotates to the other members of the group each month. Genzeb had set up the group because her brother had survived a serious accident.
When asked what difference Hospice Ethiopia had made to her life she replied “previously I couldn’t afford to get to my appointments at the hospital. I have nobody else who cares for me and wouldn’t be alive without Hospice Ethiopia’s support. Your service does a lot of important things, for example visiting people in their own homes. It is an example that other organisations should follow”.
*Not her real name
**It is reported that to increase the number of patients treated by radiotherapy and to reduce the waiting list at the Black Lion Hospital, the dose of radiotherapy per session was increased and the length of the course reduced. This has now been stopped due to the sharp increase in the side effects experienced by the patients.
Hospice Ethiopia UK 