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Oncology

We fight injustice by making health care accessible to those who need it most.

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+5,500
Tests  cervical cancer screening 

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+1,500
People who received oncology care

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+300
Patients treated in 2020

Cancer-control services, accessible to the most disadvantaged 

Today, there are only 3 medical oncologists, 2 radiation oncologists and 4 surgical oncologists practicing in Haiti, and all work in the private sector. However, private cancer care is inaccessible to most patients across the country, as the vast majority of the population lives on less than $ 2 a day. In addition, there are no oncology training programs in Haiti for clinicians, which will continue to result in a shortage of qualified health care providers trained in oncology.

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In the early 2000s, Zanmi Lasante began focusing on cancer at Hôpital Bon Saveur in Cange, ZL's original location in the Central Plateau. Oncology care at ZL originally began on an interim basis, with physicians with limited oncology experience treating individual cancer patients with given medications. An official oncology program started in 2011 at Hôpital Bon Saveur in Cange, then was transferred to Hôpital Universitaire de Mirebalais (HUM) in 2013. Cancer care at HUM is provided by a team of two doctors, nurses, social workers and psychologists. Oncology support is provided by US physicians from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI), who provide technical and clinical advice through regular correspondence to review patient cases and recommend treatment plans.

With an awareness of the growing need for integrated oncology care, the Roselène Jean Bosquet Oncology Center was launched in 2018 at HUM. This new dedicated surgical oncology clinic offers cervical cancer screening, psychosocial counseling and support, chemotherapy, community education for prevention and early detection, and selective surgery.

 

Our psychosis team, made up of social workers and psychologists, offers support services to patients and their families, and individual counseling sessions, organizes targeted support groups, and organizes community awareness campaigns. A dedicated team of highly qualified oncology nurses provides comprehensive oncology nursing care, supported for several years by a group of oncology nurses, from the DFCI, who provide on-site mentoring.

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The pediatric oncology program started at the hospital in 2019 in partnership with Saint-Damien Hospital. It provides targeted care to 14 to 21-year-olds by offering them treatment for leukemia, lymphomas, and osteosarcoma.

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Program priorities:

  • Provide safe and effective oncology diagnostics, treatment, and selective surgeries

  • Offer cervical cancer screening

  • Provide counseling and psychosocial support

  • Perform community education and patient navigation services

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