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Episode 6 - Dr Furaha Serventi. The Future of Cancer Care - Building a centre of excellence

In this episode, Dr Furaha Serventi, Head of the Cancer Care Centre at KCMC Hospital, describes the realities of accessing cancer care in lower-middle-income countries. He discusses the barriers that many cancer patients face, including late presentation, delayed diagnosis, limited resources and the financial and practical challenges of accessing treatment.



Dr Serventi highlights the ongoing support from FCCT in building a centre of excellence in cancer care, by sponsoring specialised medical training and contributing towards staff retention. All these investments are crucial in helping to provide high-quality cancer care in Tanzania.

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Episode 1 - Hazel Reinhardt. The story - FCCT and the KCMC Cancer Care Centre

In our very first episode, our host Dr. Gloria Temu sits down with FCCT's President Hazel Reinhardt to talk about the origins of FCCT, it's vision and what generally inspires Hazel, along with the team at FCCT, to make cancer care more accessible to people in Tanzania.

Hear about the triumphs and tribulations around delivering care in a big country with a population of over 60million people.

Enjoy!

Episode 2 - Dr Oliver Henke. Laying the foundations - Building the Cancer Care Centre

Dr Oliver Henke is a German Haemato-Oncologist who has been working at the KCMC Hospital’s Cancer Care Centre for the past five years. In 2016 he and his family left their life in Germany to move to Moshi, Tanzania, so that he could join in the efforts by the KCMC and FCCT to offer oncology services at the hospital.

What started as a simple idea amongst a group of doctors; to provide some oncology consultation services in the wards, gradually developed over the years and has become the specialised unit that the cancer centre is today. Through lots of hard work and dedication, the centre is now an institute to be reckoned with; offering diagnostics, monoclonal antibody treatment, leukemia treatments and palliative care, amongst other services.

In this episode you will also hear Dr Henke’s first-hand accounts of treating patients who are often in destitute circumstances, giving them a fresh lease of life. Enjoy!

Episode 3 - Dr EliFuraha Mkwizu. Changing narratives - Rethinking cancer treatment in Tanzania

As a specialised Haematologist, Dr Elifuraha Mkwizu is a central figure in the diagnostics and research practices at the Cancer Care Centre. Having trained as an internal medicine physician in Russia, and then specialised in Haematology in India, he draws some profound comparisons in the way that cancer diseases are managed medically as well as culturally.

For instance, in Tanzania a lymphocytic leukaemia is treated as palliative, or to put it simply, as a terminal state of cancer. However, ‘..cancer should be treated like a chronic disease, like diabetes, like hypertension..it should not be a death certificate to anyone’, says Dr Mkwizu. And so while he and the staff at KCMC are out to change the narrative, as a case in point, the first ever patient with an acute leukemia was fully treated at the centre in 2021. In this episode you’ll hear about the ‘tears of joy’ that the young 29 year old man sheds on every return visit to the clinic.

But there’s still lots to do, and the challenges are many. As Dr Mkwizu explains, there is a desperate need for more diagnostic capabilities and treatment in order to catch diseases in their early stages, and give patients a better chance to get cured, through detailed treatment plans.

Episode 4 - Anna Massawe. A champion in palliative care

Anna Massawe is a Palliative Care Coordinator Nurse working at the Cancer Care Centre. As a young girl she dreamt of being a policewoman, but her father always knew that she was destined for a career in care services, given her nurturing spirit and her passion for helping people.

She began her career in medicine at the KCMC hospital, where she joined as an Orthopaedic Nurse. After a successful ten year stint, she spent three years undertaking further studies in nursing at the Kilimanjaro Christian University College. She then returned to KCMC to work in the urology department, where she saw lots of HIV patients. It was at that point that she began to take an interest in palliative care, as most of the HIV patients that she saw also had cancers, and they were not receiving the necessary type of care for their conditions.

Today, Anna is a champion of palliative care at KCMC; working and training aspiring health workers on the practices of giving palliative care. A typical day will see her drive along with a team of doctors and nurses to visit patients at their homes, often miles out in rural areas with little if any sanitary services. There, she will tend to their metastatic wounds and hand them some life essentials including food and basic sanitary provisions. While she is there she always makes sure she speaks with her patients, making sure that they feel heard and above all cared for. Anna’s story is truly inspiring. Enjoy!

Episode 5 - Antje Henke. Prevention through awareness - Beating cancer by spreading knowledge

As a Public Health specialist with a Phd doctorate in cervical cancer screening in women, Antje Henke has been working at the Cancer Care Centre since 2016, when she moved to Tanzania from Germany, along with her husband Dr. Oliver Henke and their three boys. Since then, she has been co-working with the medical staff at KCMC to spread knowledge about cancers and to teach people about the ways to detect symptoms early.

‘In the whole of Sub-Saharan Africa, only little research has been done into cancer…cancer is a major problem, but data and cancer registry are really missing here’, says Antje.

To help tackle this issue, an awareness and prevention outreach program called Prevacamp was started at KCMC in 2017, which Antje has been leading. As part of the program, cancer specialists and nurses from the hospital visit other hospitals and locations in the Kilimanjaro region to provide educational talks and spread awareness about cancer diseases.

On top of this incredible work, some auxiliary programs have also been set up to help alleviate people’s preoccupations of being diagnosed with cancer and help them deal with life after diagnosis. Prevatrain was created in order to increase the availability of specialized assistance, by training up aspiring health-care workers, while Prevaschool was rolled out to offer cancer education in schools, so that young people could be prepared should they ever be affected by cancer in the future.

In this insightful conversation you’ll hear about the pioneering work that is underway to create more cancer awareness, detection and prevention in Tanzania.

Episode 7 - Professor Gileard Masenga. Stronger Together: The power of partnerships and shared visions

In this episode, Professor Gileard Masenga, Executive Director of KCMC Hospital, reflects on the powerful partnership between FCCT, the Government of the United Republic of Tanzania, and GSF, (The Good Samaritan Foundation), in developing a state-of-the-art cancer care centre at KCMC.

Professor Masenga discusses the transformative potential of the centre’s newly installed radiotherapy services, which will expand access to cancer treatment for patients across Tanzania and beyond. He highlights how this collaboration is strengthening cancer care capacity and bringing specialist treatment closer to those who need it.

Episode 8 - Bishop Dr Frederick Shoo. Faith, Vision and Hope: Building the future of cancer care

In this episode, Bishop Frederick Shoo reflects on the power of having faith in a bold, long-term vision: to build a comprehensive cancer care centre in Moshi, Tanzania. Drawing on his first-hand experience, Bishop Shoo shares how that vision has materialised into a centre offering hope and life-changing care to people facing cancer.



He also speaks movingly about the compassion and generosity of FCCT’s donors, whose support has helped make this vision a reality, and continues to save lives. His story is a testament to what can be achieved when faith, commitment and collective generosity come together around a shared purpose.

Episode 9 - Dr Godwin Nnko. Expanding Access: Why Tanzania needs more radiotherapy machines

In this episode, Dr Godwin Nnko highlights the urgent need to expand access to radiotherapy services in Tanzania. Drawing on W.H.O statistics that recommend one radiotherapy machine is needed for every one million people, he puts the scale of the challenge into perspective: Tanzania has a population of more than 60 million, while the northern region alone is home to more than 12 million people.

Dr Nnko discusses what this significant gap in radiotherapy capacity means for cancer patients, particularly those who must travel long distances to access treatment. He explores the importance of investing in radiotherapy infrastructure to bring essential cancer treatment closer to communities and improve access for patients across Tanzania.

Episode 10 - Dr Glory Makupa. Research That Matters: A localised approach to understanding cancer

In this episode, Dr Glory Makupa explores the vital role of locally led cancer research in improving care and outcomes in Tanzania. She highlights why research that is grounded in local communities and contexts is essential for uncovering insights into the realities, needs and challenges faced by patients.



Dr Makupa also reflects on the first Kilimanjaro International Cancer Conference, a landmark event that was supported by FCCT and hosted at KCMC. Bringing together medical specialists from the USA, Europe and neighbouring African countries, the conference created a valuable platform for experts to present their work, exchange knowledge and engage in rich dialogue about the future of cancer care.

Episode 11 - Priscus Mapendo. The Gold Standard: Quality and Accreditation in Cancer Care

In this episode, Priscus Mapendo, a Laboratory Technician at the KCMC Cancer Care Centre, explores the vital role of accreditation in driving quality improvement and strengthening quality management systems in cancer care. Priscus discusses KCMC’s ongoing efforts to achieve hospital-wide accreditation, helping ensure that patients receive safe, consistent and high-quality services that meet recognised standards of excellence.

Episode 12 - Dr FLorida Muro. Knowledge Saves Lives: The Power of Prevention and Early Detection

In this episode, Dr Florida Muro draws on her expertise in public health to explore the growing burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in Tanzania. She discusses the factors contributing to rising rates of conditions such as cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular disease, and highlights the urgent need for greater health education, awareness and prevention.



Dr Muro considers how empowering communities with knowledge and encouraging earlier action can help reduce the impact of NCDs, while strengthening Tanzania’s ability to respond to this growing public health challenge.

Episode 13 - Emanuel Nnkya. Beyond Treatment: The Power of Good Nutrition in Cancer Care

In this episode, Emanuel Nkya, a nutritionist at the KCMC Cancer Care Centre, explores the vital role that good nutrition can play for people undergoing cancer treatment. He discusses how maintaining adequate nutrition can support patients through treatment and recovery, while sharing practical, locally adapted recipes and food choices that are accessible and familiar to Tanzanian families.

Episode 14 - Faith Douglas. Healing Beyond Treatment: Supporting Children and Families

In this episode, Rehema Ramdhan, Tanzania’s first female medical physicist, explores the complexities of establishing and delivering radiotherapy services. From machine installation and calibration to daily operation, she explains why focus, precision and expertise are essential at every stage. Rehema also shares her journey and hopes to inspire the next generation of female medical physicists in Tanzania.

Episode 15 - Rehema Ramadhan: The Power of Precision: A Medical Physicist’s Journey

Description and podcast coming soon