More than 800 cancer patients have been treated at the Rwanda Cancer Center (RCC), a facility that was established three years ago at the Rwanda Military Hospital (RMH) in Kanombe, Kigali.
Inaugurated by President Paul Kagame in February 2020, the center is the only place where radiotherapy treatment is provided to patients in the country, therefore, it came as a very important solution not only for residents of Rwanda, but also those in the region.
Using advanced technology, medics at the facility administer specialised treatment including surgery as well as advent treatment which include chemotherapy, radiotherapy and hormonal therapy.
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Speaking to The New Times, Major Dr. Felix Nganji, a consultant clinical oncologist at the center, said that since its establishment, the RCC has treated different types of cancer including cervical cancer, prostate cancer, breast cancer, gastric cancer, rectal cancers, brain tumours, head and neck cancers, hematological malignancies, lung cancers and so on.
"Up to 90 percent of the cases we treated have recovered well. People should know that cancer is not a death sentence. The government has made a lot of investment in equipment, personnel and medicines to make sure that we have good treatment in the country," he said.
However, he emphasised that the patients need to always come to the center early, before the disease has aggravated. This, according to him, increases their chances of recovery.
"Some patients come to us when their cancers have reached advanced stages. This makes it hard for them to recover. For example, in case of breast cancer, if a patient comes early, we remove the tumour - which is still small at early stages. With this, the patient can recover well. But if there are delays, the cancer can even spread to more parts of the body and becomes very hard to treat," he noted.
He called upon people to always look out for signs of cancer, for example, lumps in the breasts or wounds in the mouth or other parts of the body that take long to heal.
In addition, he said the Ministry of Health is carrying out sensitization among medical practitioners at various levels to ensure that they get to know more about the signs of cancer, so that they can make timely referral of suspected cases to the hospitals that specialise in dealing with them.
Some of the patients that were treated at the centre spoke to The New Times, and told us about how they are faring.
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One of these, a female survivor of breast cancer, who preferred anonymity said she was so afraid when she was diagnosed with the disease in August 2020.
"I thought I was going to die," she recalled.
"I was transferred to this center where I had a surgery for the removal of the lump. Afterwards, I proceeded to Butaro for chemotherapy, but later I came back to finish the dose from here," she added.
She successfully finished her treatment and she is now okay, though she has to visit the hospital for regular checkups.
"One of the reasons for my recovery is that I detected the problem early and I sought medical assistance. I used to feel a lump in my right breast, that is why I went for tests. I got treated, and I am now doing well," she said.
Another person treated at the center, who spoke to The New Times is a fairly aged man who is recovering from prostate cancer.
"I am having radiotherapy currently. They prescribed for me 37 days of undergoing the treatment, and now I am on the 29th day. I feel strong. I am getting better," he said.
"I want to tell people out there that cancer can be cured. If you are diagnosed with it, you don't have to lose hope. We have treatment within the country," he added.
According to Dr. Nganji, there is a plan to expand the RCC so that it will have beds for accommodating patients. Currently, many patients who are treated at the RCC are accommodated at the RMH or even nearby accommodation facilities.
