I run for a worthy cause: The Uganda Rotary Cancer Run 2024

Winfred Kaliika, a member of the Sunrise Rotary Club of Kampala, woke up very early on Sunday, August 25th, 2024. By 6 am, she had already arrived at the UMA Showground in Kampala, fully adorned in her running gear and ready for the annual cancer run. She is a cancer survivor and has been battling it since 2015, when she was first diagnosed with breast cancer.

She says although it has not been easy with the treatment and the supplements that she has to keep on purchasing, nothing has dampened her spirits, and she vows to continue fighting.

“I am here for myself and all the other cancer survivors out there who need support and encouragement that we got this, and we can do this,” she enthusiastically says as she awaits the flag-off.

Kaliika is looking forward to the day there will be more cancer centers across Uganda that can attend to more people in the villages rather than traveling to Kampala to one cancer center currently overwhelmed with patients.

“If we do this every year in all towns, we will be able to complete the Nsambia Cancer Centre and reduce the number of cancer patients in Mulago. People are dying because they cannot afford the medication or access the facilities.”

Her plea to other people battling cancer is to stay strong and support each other, feed well, and not fear going for check-ups as directed by the doctors. She calls upon all people to frequently get their bodies checked because if cancer is discovered early, it will be easy to treat.

Zipporah Musia, the current president of the Rotary Club of Machakos in Kenya, also attended the cancer run in Kampala.

The cause of the run inspires her because her aunt, who took her in after her parents passed on, has been battling cervical cancer for a while now.

“As a Rotarian, we say service above self, and so I am here for my aunt, whose name is engraved on the presidential chain that I wear; she was the first president of Machakos Rotary Club, and so this run means a lot to me,” she says.

She hopes to create awareness of cancer and also raise money to help people who are unable to receive treatment.

“Many people are going out of the country to seek cancer treatment, and my appeal to the government is to put up well-equipped cancer centers that are affordable because cancer treatment is quite expensive and causes a lot of suffering to families both financially and emotionally,” she adds.

According to the World Health Organization, Cervical cancer had the highest mortality cases at 19.7 percent in 2018 and the leading incidence cases at 17.7 percent, with Kaposi sarcoma coming second at 13 percent and breast cancer at 7,1 percent.

The World Health Organization Uganda County Profile of 2020 indicates that in 2016, out of 41,687 premature deaths due to non-communicable diseases, cancer contributed 37.9 percent.

Additionally, the same profile shows that the most common cancers in Uganda are cancer of the cervix, Kaposi sarcoma, breast cancer, cancer of the prostate, and non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

GLOBOCAN 2020 also indicates that in children between the ages of 0-14 years, there were 2,093 new cancer cases.

In Uganda alone, it was estimated in 2020 that there were 34,008 new cancer cases, 22,992 deaths related to cancer, and 62,548 adults living with cancer.

According to the Past District Governor of Rotary District 9200, Stephen Mwanje, the current chairperson of the Uganda Rotary Cancer Program, started the cancer run in 2010/2011 while governor.

At that time, when he was beginning his journey as the governor in charge of Kenya, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Tanzania, and Uganda, he lost one of his close friends to cancer.

“I spoke to the corporates and asked them to work with Rotarians on a project, and when they asked, I did not hesitate to mention the cancer center, and so the cancer run was born as a fundraising vehicle for the cancer center,” says Mwanje.

The cancer program has four pillars: creating awareness, offering free cancer screening services, establishing infrastructure, including the cancer center, capacity building, and staff training.

The cancer run has been happening in 50 towns across Uganda and 30 other cities outside Uganda.

“The reason I say the cancer run brings awareness is that when people are asked to register, they ask why we are running, and the discussion for cancer begins; we talk about what it involves and why they should care, and we then explain to them that when they get diagnosed early, chances of survival are very high,” says Mwanje.

During the run, Mwanje says they encourage all the medical partners in the cancer space to exhibit their services, such as cancer screening centers, pharmacies, and palliative care units, to take people through screening, counseling, and education and educate those who participate in the run.

“Men who have not been seeking health services have shown up this year during the cancer run, and this shows the awareness has been bearing fruit,” says Birungi Jacinta, an Oncological Nurse. “My plea is for people to come for screening because we are not looking for the disease; we are looking for pre-lesions that show with time they can become cancerous, and when that happens, it is easily managed.”

This year’s run went beyond the target by drawing more than 50,000 runners and raised 2.5 billion Uganda shillings (approx. 672,000 USD) as compared to last year, which grew 1.1 billion Uganda Shillings (approx. 295,982 USD)

The money raised in the run will be used to complete the cancer center in Nsambia Hospital by 2027 to complete the radiotherapy center, especially the bankers, and procure the required radiotherapy equipment.

“In Nsambia, there is a ward that is admitting and treating people with cancer, offering only chemotherapy and surgery, but there is no radiotherapy. Due to the nature of the machines used in radiotherapy, the bankers need to have very thick walls to protect the patients and doctors from the radioactive material,” Mwanje explains.

The Rotary has partnered with Nsambia Hospital and helps source more partners. The Uganda Cancer Institute and the Parliament of Uganda gave them 1 billion Uganda Shilling (approx. 269,074 USD), CentenaryBank, Crystal Water, New Vision, and NBS, among other key partners.

Mwanje also says that they are targeting a grant from Rotary International to help purchase the equipment and that, through the board that he chairs, the Cancer Program plans to expand and establish other centers once the cancer center in Nsambia is completed to establish a cancer foundation.

“This is because it is very costly to treat cancer, and many cancer patients are going to Nsambia for help, and we want to get to a point where no cancer patient will be turned away because they do not have money,” says Mwanje, adding that the foundation will ensure all patients who turn up with cancer will be treated whether they have money or not.

He urges people to contribute whenever a similar course is presented because the little they contribute will always go a long way in the fight against cancer.