As Uganda joins the rest of the world in marking Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the Uganda Cancer Institute (UCI) has revealed that the country has registered a decline in late-stage breast and cervical cancer diagnoses. Dr Alfred Jatho, the head of the Community Cancer Services Department at UCI, said cervical cancer alone accounts for 33 percent of new cancer cases in Uganda, followed by breast cancer at 14.6 percent, together making up about half of the country’s total cancer burden.
‘Ten years ago, nearly 90 percent of cancer cases were diagnosed at a late stage. Five years ago, this dropped to 80 percent,’ Dr Jatho said on Monday. ‘Currently, the late-stage diagnosis rate stands at approximately 70 percent for cervical cancer and 77 percent for breast cancer, while other cancers remain at around 80 percent,’ he added.
Dr Jatho emphasised that early detection significantly increases chances of cure, especially at pre-cancer or stage-zero levels, which can often be treated without chemotherapy or radiotherapy. ‘The drop in late-stage diagnoses is good news,’ he said. ‘However, the proportion remains high – only about 25 to 30 percent of cases are detected early. That still represents a major challenge, because late-stage cancers are far more difficult to cure,’ he added.
He explained that with roughly 30 percent of cases detected early, the majority of patients diagnosed late are unlikely to survive. Despite the growing cancer burden, Uganda currently has only one comprehensive cancer treatment facility – the Uganda Cancer Institute in Kampala. ‘The UCI expects to manage about 77,000 cancer patients annually, but our hospital capacity allows us to treat only about 17 percent, or 13,090 patients,’ Dr Jatho said. As a result, many patients resort to spiritual healers and herbalists for alternative care.
Lack of information remains a major obstacle in the fight against cancer, particularly in the Busoga Sub-region. Ms Sylvia Nakami, the executive director of Rays of Hospice Jinja (RHHJ), a specialised palliative care provider in the region, said ignorance continues to fuel fear and misinformation. ‘The biggest barrier in the fight against cancer is information,’ she said. ‘Some people believe that screening for cervical cancer involves removing the uterus, examining it, and putting it back incorrectly – which they think leads to infertility,’ she added. RHHJ has intensified community outreach to encourage early screening and treatment.
Throughout this month, the organisation is spreading awareness about breast cancer, culminating in a Run, Walk, and Ride event on October 25, under the theme ‘Because Every Woman Matters.’ Ms Nakami noted that the number of cancer patients in Busoga has been increasing steadily.
‘Over the past seven years, our data show a sharp rise in cancer cases. Since 2018, the majority of patients we have cared for have been cancer patients,’ she said. Dr Anna Kabona, an associate consultant in Public Health at Jinja Regional Referral Hospital, stressed that seeking treatment late makes cancer management difficult.