On 8 March 2024 Rays of Hope Hospice Jinja (RHHJ) joins the rest of the world in celebrating International Women’s Day. It is a festive day - a day, where we do something special for the women in our lives and where we take the opportunity to show the women, how much we love and treasure them. However, it is also a time to pause to think and plan for how to make women’s life better – not only on March 8, but throughout the year.
Every International Women’s Day has a theme – this year is called ‘To Accelerate Progress’.
Achieving gender equality and women’s well-being in life is more crucial than ever if we want healthy communities and economies. We all need to work together and do what we know best to achieve this. For RHHJ we are working on providing access to prevention and treatment for the two main cancers that affect so many women’s lives –cervical and breast cancer.Â
In Uganda, cervical cancer is the most common cause of new cancers contributing (20.5%), 35% of new cancers in women and 22% of all cancer deaths. Breast Cancer is 2nd most common cancer in Uganda.
There is hardly a day when RHHJ does not have a new patient with cervical cancer or breast cancer. Most of these women come when the disease is already advanced with serious and stigmatizing symptoms – yet cervical cancer can be eliminated with HPV vaccination of our daughters, screening of all sexually active women, and early diagnosis and treatment of those who already have cancer. Breast cancer can be controlled with early diagnosis and treatment – 5-year survival in Uganda is only 50%, whereas in the US 90%. We have the diagnostic tools and treatment needed to cure breast cancer, but it can be hard to reach them if you live far away and health services are limited.
That is why RHHJ works hard on improving access to the prevention of cervical cancer through HPV vaccination, screening of women for cervical and breast cancer, and giving access to further diagnosis and treatment as needed. Elimination of cervical cancer and control of breast cancer is the goal – it is a bold goal, but it can be reached if we work together.
Women, go for screening, let your daughters get vaccinated with HPV against cervical cancer, and seek qualified medical advice if you have symptoms of disease, help others around you, encourage them to seek help – and medical professionals let us provide the best possible service to our women and keep them healthy – not only on International Women’s Day, but throughout the year.
HAPPY WOMEN’S INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY.
(For further information please contact RHHJ 0771 619 944/ 0706 937 307)
