How a mother’s loss became a national support network for brain tumour in Zimbabwe

Christine Mungoshi’s daughter was eight years old when the first symptoms appeared, though at the time they were not recognised for what they were. “She complained of frequent headaches, but otherwise said very little,” Christine recalls. “She would press a wet cloth to her head, without explanation. At school, teachers thought she was being lazy when she stopped copying down her work, but actually it was because she was having trouble with her eyesight.”

Then came the moment when her daughter could no longer find her own classroom. She had an eye examination, which prompted the doctor to order an urgent MRI scan. The results confirmed a craniopharyngioma, a rare, slow-growing brain tumor that develops near the pituitary gland at the base of the brain.,“It’s often considered benign, but in reality it can act like cancer, very aggressive, so a lot of doctors want to classify it as cancerous,” Christine says. “My daughter’s tumour caused cysts that filled rapidly with fluid, so the doctors had to implant a small dome-shaped device, an Ommaya reservoir, under her scalp to drain fluid from the brain.”

That was just the first of 28 surgeries, some of which were to drain cerebrospinal fluid through insertion of shunts, alongside radiotherapy and chemotherapy. “We thought she was just going to be treated and then go home, but she never went back to school,” Mungoshi says. “She faced it all so bravely for almost five years. She died a month short of her thirteenth birthday.”

Gaps in diagnosis and care

At the time, no support network existed in Zimbabwe for families facing a brain tumour diagnosis, leaving many to navigate the disease in isolation and without support.

Brain tumours present a particular diagnostic challenge in Zimbabwe, where they are frequently mistaken for other conditions, both by health workers and within communities. “Seizures are a common early symptom, but they are often interpreted through a spiritual lens rather than a medical one," Christine explains. “In our culture, things like a seizure can be seen as being attacked by a spiritual entity.” 

Patients are therefore often treated by traditional or faith healers first, and only reach a hospital once that route has been exhausted. “By the time they are seen by an oncologist or even a primary care doctor, the disease has typically progressed,” Christine says.

Cost compounds delays in detection and treatment. An MRI scan, the standard diagnostic tool, is expensive, and many families cannot afford it. Those who proceed to treatment often sell property to cover the cost of surgery, only to find that radiotherapy, frequently required afterwards, depends on equipment that does not always work. 

“For an extended period, Zimbabwe had a single functioning radiotherapy machine serving the entire country. But if the tumour is not treated, then it will grow back very quickly and cause complications,” Christine says. “This kills all hope, because you've had this partial surgery, partial resection of the tumour, and it’s just not enough.”

As part of efforts to modernise the national healthcare system and improve oncology services, the Zimbabwe government procured four new radiotherapy machines in February 2026 to replace older ones. 

Two will be delivered to the Parirenyatwa General Hospital, a government founded district hospital in Harare, the country’s capital, and the largest public hospital in Zimbabwe. The other two will go to Mpilo Central Hospital, the largest hospital in the city of Bulawayo, and second largest in Zimbabwe after Parirenyatwa Hospital. As of June 2026, two machines had already been installed, one in each hospital.

Access to pain relief presents a further obstacle, according to Christine, particularly for those in palliative care. Zimbabwe does not have a national palliative care policy, and opioid medications, tightly regulated, remain difficult to obtain. One private organisation, the Island Hospice, provides palliative care services, but does not supply medication free of charge.

“Not enough attention is given to caregivers either,” Christine adds. “They are frequently left to manage with little support or training. I remember hearing, during a recent caregiver workshop, of family members having to handle surgical wounds without understanding basic infection control, or being persuaded by relatives to substitute prescribed medication for unproven alternatives.”

Turning experience into action

In response to these gaps, Christine Mungoshi began organising informally with a small group that included several neurosurgeons, drawing on what she had learned from international groups such as the American Brain Tumour Association. That informal effort led to the creation in 2005 of the Zimbabwe Brain Tumour Association, the first dedicated support organisation for this disease.

The organisation initially relied on funding from Zimbabwe’s national lottery, which allowed it to employ staff and reimburse expenses incurred while supporting families directly. That funding ended, however, and since then the organisation has operated largely with volunteers and contributions from board members and well-wishers. “The money we request from donors is really all to help people affected by the disease,” Christine emphasises.

The organisation has recently become a member of UICC, a step Christine describes as transformative – not because of new resources, but because of a shift in approach. Previously focused almost entirely on directly supporting people affected by brain tumours, the organisation has begun engaging formally with Zimbabwe’s Ministry of Health, including its non-communicable diseases department, and is finalising a memorandum of understanding that would allow it to take part in policy discussions.

Among the priorities now under discussion is formal recognition of caregivers as part of a person’s treatment plan, alongside continued advocacy for reduced diagnostic costs and stronger national data on brain tumour incidence. “This is a fundamental gap,” Christine explains. “Zimbabwe currently has no functioning cancer registry that captures brain tumours, and it’s not the only country. This means that the true prevalence in the country, and across much of the African continent, remains unknown.”

The organisation continues to respond directly to individual cases as they arise, often without dedicated funds in place that are immediately available. Christine explains how they manage such situations: “The people who work with us are amazing. I remember a recent call from the mother of an 11-year-old with a brain tumour, I could hear the child in the background, in severe pain. Board members pooled money that day to cover urgent medication, and later raised funds for the child’s surgery.” 

Looking ahead, Mungoshi hopes brain tumours can receive the same sustained attention that has been directed towards other cancers. She points notably to the progress made on cervical cancer as an example of what sustained, coordinated attention can achieve over time.