{Phillipa Kibugu was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1994 while living in the United States of America. This was four years after her sister died of the same disease at a tender age of 38. }
“When my sister died, we didn’t know anything about breast cancer then. She was taken to England for treatment but on reaching there, the cancer had spread to the liver. Surgery was done but she died. I was the one taking care of her at the time. It was a trying time,” Kibugu sadly narrates. I feel that my sister died because she was not knowledgeable about the disease and it was detected in the late stages.
“I wanted to know about the disease to be prepared. I was in the US at the time and breast cancer awareness was massive, so I did several tests which always gave negative results until in 1994 when my doctor did a biopsy that the cancer was detected. It was in its early stages. I was given an option of a single mastectomy. But I opted for a mastectomy for both breasts. I did so for my family. I didn’t want to take any chances,” Kibugu recalls.
Kibuga underwent nine rounds of chemotherapy, a very trying time it was, but she kept strong. When she recovered she came back to Rwanda to share the testimony with her people. Today Kibugu is the Director of Breast Cancer Initiative East Africa Inc (BCIEA)
She says it is time up to inspire and take action against cancer today for all Rwandans and the generations to come.
Rwanda Military Hospital (RMH) Kanombe, Kigali, is one of the institutions that have committed to fighting cancer.
Why World Cancer Day
The world Cancer Day 2016, marked with the tagline “We Can, I Can”, is celebrated Thursday 4th February. While comprehending this year’s theme, the day is meant to explore how everyone can do their part to reduce the global burden of cancer collectively or as an individual. “The World Cancer Day is an opportunity to reflect on the issues of cancer and the extent at which it affects the people of Rwanda today,” says Lt. Col. Dr. Pacifique Mugenzi, Radiation Oncologist at RMH. The day is very significant as people convey the message of commitment, love, and strength and hope to prevent and cure cancer.
The key message here is that people need to inspire action and also, take action, live health lifestyles and understand early detection to save lives and improve access to cancer care, work together for increased impact and speak out, to mention but a few.
{{Forms of cancer in Rwanda}}
There are different types of cancer affecting both male and female Rwandans today; breast, cervical, prostate cancer, gastric, liver, head & neck and a few cases of lung cancer. “Cervical cancer is one of the commononest affect¬ing women today,” says Dr. Mugenzi. The Government of Rwanda has set an ambitious goal to eradicate the disease through intensive awareness measures and immu¬nization for all adolescent girls against Hu¬man Papilloma Virus (HPV), which is responsible for almost all cer-vical cancers. Statistics from the Ministry of Health indicate that Rwanda has so far vacci¬nated 227,246 girls with all three doses of the human Papilloma virus (HPV) vaccine.
{{Strategies to fight cancer}}
The Ministry of health plans to have national cancer planner clearly focusing on awareness, early screening, diagnosis treatment and care,” says Dr Mugenzi adding the strategy should not only focus on avoidance of risk factors but also invest in cancer control and mobilize networks to drive progress.
{{Challenges and the future}}
“Much has been done and reached by the government through Ministry of Health but we are not yet there,” he says. Rwanda still lacks human capacity and infrastructure.
The Ministry is however focusing much on awareness, screening and emphasizing the multi disciplinary approach which calls for collaboration among specialists. The ministry of health plans to engage all districts in cancer management. There is also much hope to improve the infrastructure especially when the government is intending to avail radiotherapy services by next year.
Leave a Reply