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Story Publication logo March 9, 2012

A Cancer Clinic in the Hills of Haiti

Country:

Haiti
Authors:
Media file: cancer-developing-world.jpg
English

Project

Cancer in the Developing World: The Economics of a Disease

More people in poor countries die from cancer than from HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria combined...

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The town of Cange is nestled in the mountains of Haiti, about an hour from the capital city, near a lake created by a partially operating dam. Image by Ansel Herz. Haiti, 2012.
Three decades ago, there was no health facility here. Now there's Partners in Health and Zanmi Lasante, which have become a kind of medical Mecca for Haitians in the Central Plateau. Image by Ansel Herz. Haiti, 2012.
Patients wait in the medical department to be seen by the head of the new cancer treatment program. Many young women come in with advanced stages of breast cancer, doctors said. Image by Ansel Herz. Haiti, 2012.
'Leukemia cancer initiative in Haiti' reads an information sheet on a desk in the internal medicine ward. 'Cancer can touch many people in the community. To treat cancer it's important that everyone understand this disease well.' Image by Ansel Herz. Haiti, 2012.
Reporter Joanne Silberner talks with Dr. Ruth Damuse, a Haitian internist who heads Zanmi Lasante's new oncology program, before she sees patients waiting outside. Image by Ansel Herz. Haiti, 2012.
The hospital is almost full of patients and the line stretches out the door. For many remote towns, this facility is the only place they can come to receive good medical care for common injuries and diseases. Image by Ansel Herz. Haiti, 2012.
Jean Emmanuel is a 62-year-old community health worker who has raised awareness and helped treat the sick in his community for over 20 years. He said due to his efforts, people in his village understand the risks posed by cancer. Image by Ansel Herz. Haiti, 2012.
Doctors and nurses from the Zanmi Lasante cancer treatment program prepare to begin the day's rounds of chemotherapy on cancer patients. Image by Ansel Herz. Haiti, 2012.
Haitian social worker Oldine Deshommes, along with visiting medical student Katan Sharma, interviews patients. Since she joined the cancer treatment program three months ago, she says she's been able to convince all her cancer-afflicted patients to return to the hospital for repeated treatments. Image by Ansel Herz. Haiti, 2012.
Dr. Ruth Damuse speaks to Haitian women in Zanmi Lasante’s new Mirebalais Hospital about breast and cervical cancer on International Women's Day. Image by Ansel Herz. Haiti, 2012.

Partners in Health and its sister organization Zanmi Lasante have established a health facility in rural Haiti. They've recently added a program to detect and treat cancer. One of their biggest challenges is getting patients who don't recognize their disease to come in and be treated before it's too late.

RELATED TOPICS

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Topic

Health Inequities

Health Inequities

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