Beneath the cancer statistics are names, faces and affected families

A regular physical breast examination is one way to ensure early cancer detection, increasing chances of cure. PHOTO BY Rachel Mabala.

What you need to know:

In many female cancer cases, especially breast and cervical cancer, it is easy to miss the early warning signs. If detected early, the two cancers are easier to treat, with high chances of complete cure.

KAMPALA

Cancer statistics available indicate that 2800 new cancer cases were registered in 2012 compared to 1800 in 2011 with an estimated 60,000 people living with the deadly disease in the country. Of those, only 20 to 40 per cent manage to seek medical attention at Uganda Cancer Institute in Mulago hospital.

But beneath the statistics are faces, names, families, individuals who have been affected by the disease.

According to Titti Andriani, the president of Oncologists for Africa, close to eight out of 10 women diagnosed with cancer die, this means that women cancer patients have a survival rate of approximately 18 per cent.

Of those who have survived is 52-year-old Edna Komugisha, a mother of four and a resident of Namuwongo, a Kampala suburb who was diagnosed with cervical cancer in 2014.
“Cervical cancer is a strange disease and a hard one as well. I didn’t fall sick at all. I didn’t even feel sick at first. The only thing that worried me was the excess water-like discharge I used to have every day,” Komugisha explains.
Since she didn’t feel any pain, she says she did not think of seeking medical help until the discharge increased.

Even though the ordeal was new and unusual, Komugisha says she remained reluctant even when her husband and her children advised her to go to hospital for a checkup.
“A time came when I needed to carry an excess panty so that when the one I was wearing got wet, I could easily change into a dry one,” she adds.
It was then that she decided to go for a medical checkup at Mulago hospital where after the first scan,she was told she had fibroids.

Doctors advised her to undergo an operation but she was reluctant until her friends suggested she goes to Mengo hospital for a second opinion.
“It was at Mengo hospital where I was told I had cervical cancer and advised to have my uterus removed. Until this point, I didn’t have any problem. I still had no pain or symptom of any sort to point to the fact that I was sick. I felt fine, until the operation took place,” she continues.

Komugisha was told she had stage 2A of cervical cancer.
According to Josephine Nabitaka, the health service coordinator at Hospice Africa, Uganda, at stage 2A, the cancer is still in its early stages before it spreads to other parts of the body. She says at this stage, the cancer is at the mouth of the cervix.

“That is why doctors opt to remove the uterus so that the cancer doesn’t spread to other areas. After this, the patient undergoes chemotherapy or radiotherapy to kill off the remaining cancer cells to stop regrowth,” Nabitaka explains.

Within the space of one month of finding out she had cervical cancer, Komugisha was enrolled at Mulago hospital to undergo radiotherapy. She says by this time, life had already become complicated after the operation. Everyday was a struggle until she started undergoing radiotherapy.
“After the operation it seemed as though the disease was awakened. I started feeling a lot of pain in my entire body. I was scared.”

With radiotherapy, Komugisha did not know to expect. She wishes she had been counselled before the therapy. Then she would have known what to do and how to act.
Spending Shs8,000 per day on transport alone, Komugisha endured the treatment for a month.
At this time, she says even though she didn’t get significant side effects such as a running stomach or constant vomiting as other patients often do, the pain was unbearable.

“I got wounds on my buttocks and in my private parts. I could not sit,” she recalls vividly.
To reduce the pain, she sought specialised care at Hospice Africa Uganda where she says she was given a powder-like painkiller to help with the wounds and started on liquid morphine to control the pain.

“Edna came here when she was still undergoing radiotherapy. We treated her like we do to any other patient but encouraged her to continue with her therapy and not stop it on our account. All we want to do is help control the pain,” Nabitaka explains.

Close to a year later, Komugisha says she feels much better as she continues to undergo treatment at Hospice and awaits future visits to Mulago hospital for review.
Nabitaka says Komugisha’s survival story can be attributed to early detection of the cancer saying if she hadn’t paid attention when she started having a heavy discharge, she would still be untreated.

“If not detected early, cancer affects the body but if detected early, in case of cervical cancer, the uterus can be removed and this reduces the rate at which people die from cancer.
Most of our patients come when they are in late stages of cancer and after trying out the treatment elsewhere. When they are in late stages, our job is to make them comfortable in their last days,” says the Hospice Africa coordinator.

timing saves lives

Grim statistics. According to Titti Andriani, the president of Oncologists for Africa, close to eight out of 10 women diagnosed with cancer die, meaning that women cancer patients have a survival rate of approximately 18 per cent.

Patient’s story. “Cervical cancer is a strange disease and a hard one to treat. I didn’t fall sick at all. I didn’t even feel sick at first,” says Edna Komugisha.

Palliative care. “Most patients come when they are in late stages of cancer and after trying treatment elsewhere. At this late stage, our job is to make them comfortable in their last days.” Hospice Uganda.