Uganda Cancer Institute on Wednesday 23 June, 2022 joined other partners in Cancer care in a National Summit for Advancing Breast Health in Uganda.
The 3-day summit kicked off at Hotel Africana with Members from civil society organisations such as UWOCASO and graced by Dr. Charles Olaro as chief guest.
At the summit, stakeholders emphasized that public health policies are critical in creating a supportive environment in reduction of breast cancer burden and advocating for good breast health care outcomes. Primary health care, referral pathways, advocacy, treatment, supportive and palliative care were discussed.
Breast cancer in Uganda is the third commonest cancer in women coming only next to cancer of the cervix and Kaposi’s sarcoma.
A low-income country, Uganda has breast cancer age-standardized incidence and mortality rates of 21.3 per 100,000 population and 10.3 per 100,000 population, respectively, indicating that nearly one-half of Ugandan women who are diagnosed with breast cancer will die of their disease.
As the leading entity in fighting cancer in the country, Uganda Cancer Institute (UCI) is at the forefront to enable early detection, harmonize treatment, referral of cancer patients, and creating awareness about breast cancer to health workers and the community.
The summit will see development of guidelines for breast health in Uganda.