Maria Saloniki can hardly remember how many times she went to the local traditional healer; how many doctors she consulted; how many words she used to describe her pain. But one thing she clearly remembers is that each time, she returned home without receiving the right kind of treatment and care.

Today, Maria — a livestock keeper and mother of ten children — is fighting for her life at the Ocean Road Cancer Institute in Dar es Salaam, United Republic of Tanzania. It took her more than three years to discover the words that would describe her pain — breast cancer — and to receive the chemotherapy she desperately needed.

"It all started with a swollen armpit and a bad fever," the 60-year-old recalls. "The traditional healer prescribed herb ointments and doctors initially prescribed antibiotics. Some even told me that nothing could be done to help ease the pain". It wasn't until later, in Dar es Salaam, that a biopsy revealed her disease.

Maria's husband works day and night to pay for her medicines and feed their children. His tribe has also lent him money to cover the full treatment costs, but he still can't afford the bus fares to visit his wife. The family has one year to pay back the loan.

Maria's story is common among the people she sees in the understaffed and poorly equipped hospital ward

For thousands of women, poor access to quality health care often means that cancer is not detected until it is too late. Around half a million women die from breast cancer each year. 70% of these deaths are in low and middle income countries.