Breast cancer, a highly prevalent health problem in the country lacks funding for awareness, screening and treatment - the Director of East African Breast Cancer Initiative (EABCI), yesterday revealed.

Philippa Kibugu Decuir, who is also the Institute’s Founder, said that in Rwanda no studies have been done as regards to the awareness of this cancer yet the numbers of women suffering are increasing according to reports from various hospitals.

"Most women in the rural areas tend to spend most of their time caring for family and doing domestic work but they never take time to get breast cancer screening yet if detected at earlier, the survival rate is higher.”

"In this regard, this initiative is seeking funding of about US$1.5 million, to get a mammogram mobile machine that will go into the rural areas and screen people for free.

Those who will be detected with breast cancer or its signs will be referred to bigger hospitals like CHUK and King Faisal for treatment,” Decuir told The New Times.

After a mini-survey that she conducted last year, findings showed that there were only two mammograms and no breast-cancer doctors (Oncologists) in the country at the time.

Officials from the Ministry of Health could not be reached for comment.

Her revelation came at a time when the National University of Rwanda is organizing its 14th medical conference where breast cancer has for the first time been highlighted as one of the themes.

She however quickly added that the conference will be a platform for training some doctors on this issue adding that advocacy for training more doctors in this field is also needed.

Relating the cancer to other epidemic diseases, the activist noted that little or no funds are directly channeled to treatment of the disease or even thorough research of its existence adding that the conference will be a breakthrough to draw global attention.

Breast cancer is a tumor that develops from cells of the breast.

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