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Yale’s Mammography Van to Help Women in Uganda
In Uganda most people rely on traditional herbs for treatment of symptoms, and with cancer, this often leads to very late diagnoses. The Uganda Cancer Institute is the only cancer center in the entire country and it serves surrounding countries as well. Further hindering care, many citizens cannot afford the treatment they need and are unable to travel for their care. 95% of women diagnosed with breast cancer in Uganda already have very advanced disease when they seek treatment.
Dr. Fred Okuku, who just completed a six-month visit at Yale Cancer Center and Yale-New Haven Hospital sponsored by the Yale/Johnson & Johnson Physician Scholars in International Health Program, is a fellow in oncology and a third year medical resident at Makerere University in Uganda. In an attempt increase treatment options for patients in Uganda, many physicians like Dr. Okuku are traveling to the United States for training. “In Uganda we have one oncologist for 29 to 30 million people. I will be a great opportunity when I get back home to teach people about health education based on my experiences here. My country cannot afford to treat people with advanced cancer, but it is much better if we catch the cancer early,” Dr. Okuku explained.
In order to help further the prevention and detection of breast cancer in Uganda, Dr. Kenneth Miller, a medical oncologist and Director of the Connecticut Challenge Survivorship Clinic at Yale Cancer Center, purchased a retired mammography van from Yale-New Haven Hospital and shipped it to Uganda with the help of Doc to Dock, a non-profit that ships medical supplies to areas in need. When the van arrives in Uganda it will be staffed by a driver, nurse, and technician, and will be used to screen women in the outskirts of Kampala, the country’s capital city. “We hope that by providing new screening options with the mammography van, we will encourage women in Uganda to have screening done. It will be fantastic to be able to detect cancers earlier and with a much higher success rate,” Dr. Miller said.
Yale University and Makerere University have an exchange program, and with the help of Yale School of Medicine’s Michele Barry, MD, Professor of Medicine and Public Health, Majid Sadigh, MD, Associate Clinical Professor of Internal Medicine, and Asghar Rastegar, MD, Professor of Internal Medicine many residents from Yale are exposed to different techniques while on visiting Uganda. In Uganda, physicians rely on their clinical skills to make diagnoses because many patients cannot afford X-rays. “Doctors in Uganda do an extremely thorough physical exam and have such an amazing attention to detail. Our residents that go to Uganda come back with new abilities to do physical exams and the skills to recognize diseases they’ve never seen before. It is an amazing exchange program,” Dr. Miller said.
When Dr. Okuku returns to Uganda he will be involved with a breast cancer research project looking at ductal carcinoma in situ, a very early stage of cancer. Dr. Miller and Dr. Okuku also hope to work together on a project looking at the biology of breast cancer in women from Uganda. Because of the low life expectancy, Dr. Okuku tends to see very young women diagnosed with breast cancer. Together, they hope to discover if there are biological differences causing the earlier onset of breast cancer in Ugandan women compared to American women.
Improved access to cancer screening will undoubtedly provide the first step to ensuring women who are diagnosed with breast cancer are diagnosed at an earlier stage providing them with a chance for treatment and recovery. When Dr. Okuku finishes his training, he plans to become on oncologist and will be only the third specialist in the country focused on cancer care. Dr. Okuku says, “Care is improving in Uganda. There has been an attempt to build health centers in every village. We hope that this mammography van, generously donated by Dr. Miller and his wife Joan, will help continue to improve health care in Uganda.”
