A Witness to Cancer Care’s Early Days in Rwanda
“Doing whatever it takes” to fight a devastating disease
It was in 2008, one year after completing my nursing degree, when I started working at Rwinkwavu Hospital, one of the health facilities Partners In Health was supporting in Rwanda. There I met Dr. Corrado Canceda, Dr. Sara Stulac, Dr Vincent DeGennaro and many others who primarily came to help tackle infectious diseases, such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria.
But things changed as days went on, because patients arrived with not only infectious diseases, but also cancer. The doctors were receiving patients with cancer, even though there were no oncologists in Rwanda and knowledge about cancer was limited to a handful of clinicians, including myself. Getting chemotherapy or having staff trained in cancer care was rare.
In 2010, due to an increase in cancer cases, PIH was looking for an oncology nurse coordinator. As I was among few nurses in the country with experience in cancer care, I applied for the position and was selected.
The Rwandan government, in partnership with PIH, invited the Dana Farber Cancer Institute to conduct a basic cancer training in 2012. I was among the trainees. Oh, you can’t imagine how interesting it was! All my questions related to cancer, including local myths about cancer, were answered during that week. Later, the training continued nationwide, and I was among the nurse trainers. I also continued to provide nursing cancer care, and still do now.
I remember some of the patients who passed away. I felt discouraged and guilty about some patients who died when I couldn’t provide all the required care due to scarcity of resources. I knew I wasn’t doing enough, compared to what I observed in 2013 in U.S. hospitals, such as the Dana Farber Cancer Institute and Boston Children’s Hospital, where high-quality options for holistic cancer care are available.
I was comforted when the Butaro Cancer Center of Excellence opened in July 2012. With existing — although limited — funds, holistic cancer care was suddenly possible. There has been an increase in the number of patients surviving cancer and an improvement in patients’ quality of life, greatly thanks to multidisciplinary teamwork, the generosity of donors, and partnership with philanthropic organizations.
I am glad that my career grew over the years. Now I am a PIH oncology program manager who still lifts up the voices of cancer patients. I am committed to doing whatever it takes to help fight this worrisome and devastating disease.
*The patient’s name has been changed for privacy.
