By Dr. Helena Patricia Nam:

As a generalisation Ugandans still think of cancer as a death sentence. This is because of late presentation due to ignorance on the advantages of early detection, so by the time they come for treatment the cancer is already in advanced stages.

Hope Ward Cancer Unit:

Hope Ward Cancer Unit was developed in 2006 to provide a cancer service since there is only one other cancer centre in Uganda. Hope Ward Cancer Unit does not receive any government funding and therefore has to charge those who can afford to pay, but there are many cancer sufferers who cannot afford even the basic costs for treatment. It is these Ugandans for whom we are joining together to raise funds. The cancer unit is led by a London trained Consultant Oncologist, Dr. Helena Nam, and four internationally trained chemotherapy nurses. Annually, hundreds of patients can be treated with chemotherapy and surgery. Our long term goal is to build a complete cancer treatment centre including a modern radiotherapy department. The vision is a one stop cancer service with state of the art equipment and multi-professional, internationally trained staff. This model offers coordinated strategies in prevention, early diagnosis, treatment, and palliation to give hope to Uganda’s cancer sufferers, regardless of status, ethnicity, religion or age.

Anyone suffering from cancer should have access to care, compassion, dignity and respect.

You can help by donating securely online (at CAF) now,
your full donation will be used by Dr. Helena and this team
to help provide care to those suffering with cancer.

Just click here… (mark donation “cancer care fund”)

The Scale of the Problem*:

• By 2020 cancer and other non- communicable diseases will match communicable (infectious) diseases.
• Poverty and infection contribute to Uganda having one of the highest rates of cervical cancer in the world, rising annually by 3%.
• Uganda has amongst the highest incidences of childhood cancers in the world.
• Westernization of diet and lifestyles has led to emerging cancers with prostate and breast cancer rates increasing by 4.5 % annually.
• HIV related cancers continue to be a vast problem
• Absolute cancer figures are growing as Uganda’s population growth rate is the third highest in the world.

* Data taken from:

National Statistics

and

Donald Maxwell Parkin1,2, Sarah Nambooze2, Fred Wabwire-Mangen3 and Henry R. Wabinga, Changing
cancer incidence in Kampala, Uganda, 1991–2006, Int. J. Cancer: 126, 1187–1195 (2010) VC 2009 UICC