Flavia Acayo, a Primary Seven pupil of Pakia Primary School and resident of Koch Lii in Nwoya District was admitted at Gulu Regional Referral Hospital on Tuesday with a swollen right limb.
A teenage girl is stranded at Gulu Regional Referral Hospital following the
failure by her mother to raise Shillings 700,000 for her referral to Uganda
Cancer Institute-UCI.
Flavia Acayo, a Primary
Seven pupil of Pakia Primary School and resident of Koch Lii in Nwoya District
was admitted at Gulu Regional Referral Hospital on Tuesday with a swollen right
limb.
The teenager who was wreathing
in pain told URN that the condition started early this year with simple pain in
her right leg as she was returning home.
Her mother Evelyn
Akello says the paid progressed very fast prompting her to rush the teenager to
St. Mary’s Hospital in March, which referred her Uganda Cancer Institute for
treatment.
Akello says that she
returned home hoping to get money to support the treatment of her daughter only
to be affected by the Covid-19 lock down.
She only managed to
deliver the girl to Gulu Regional Referral Hospital on Tuesday with the help of
community members who raised Shillings 30,000 for transport.
“Dr. asked if i had 700,000Shillings for treatment at UCI. But i am a widow who
hardly gets food for the other children. It’s painful that am losing my first
born to cancer,” Akello said.
She appealed for
financial support from well-wishers to help her treat her child, saying her
efforts have failed to yield results.
Dr. Joshua Wacha, a medical
Officer at Gulu Regional Referral Hospital, says Acayo has been diagnosed with bond
cancer.
“This is a
fast-growing cancer, which requires urgent medical attention but unfortunately
we don’t have the services here,” Dr. Wacha said.
Adding that, “the
condition of that nature requires cutting off of the limb to avoid infection
from spreading up in other parts of the body.”
Dr. Wacha revealed
that they receive 5 cases of different cancers on a monthly basis, most of them
in advanced stage.
“The problem here is that most people in this region begin
treating cancer with local remedies. They report late to the health facility
when we can’t be of much help,” Dr. Wacha said.
Dr. Francis Okongo,
a Palliative Care Specialist at Lacor Hospital and Coordinator Gulu Cancer
Registry expressed concern about the increasing cancer cases in the region
affecting more than 1320 people.
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He identified the most predominant cancer infections in children as cancer of
the lymphatic system that accounts
for 80% followed by cervical cancer at 58% and prostate cancer at 20%.
He
appealed for intensified cancer awareness campaigns if the region is to get rid
of cancer infections and its burden in the community.
Simon Wokorach
Freelancer