600 screened for cancer at UCU Health Week

Jun 19, 2016

There was also screening for health conditions like diabetes, hypertension and body cholesterol levels.

MUKONO - As many as 600 students, staff and community members around Uganda Christian University (UCU) Mukono were screened for breast, cervical and prostate cancer during the university's health awareness week that ended at the weekend.

The health exercise is organized every semester to promote health through testing, counseling, curative, advisory and referral services, and this semester's activities included blood donation, HIV-counseling and testing, deworming, tetanus immunization, dental and optical screening.

There was also screening for health conditions like diabetes, hypertension and body cholesterol levels.

Held under the theme ‘Your Lifestyle and Your Health', the health camp involved outreaches to communities, schools, barracks, prisons and churches.

UCU director for health services Dr. Geoffrey Mulindwa Rwabenge told New Vision at the conclusion of the health week that it is implemented with partners including Uganda Cancer Institute, Butabika National Mental Health Hospital, Naguru Teenage Centre, Nakasero Blood Bank, Mukono District Health Office and Mukono College of Health Sciences.

He said that lately, the emphasis has been put on mental health, given the high prevalence of drug and substance abuse especially among young people.

Rwabenge said that besides topics like Short-term Lifestyle Choices and Longterm Consequences, Aerobics and others, communities were engaged in general cleaning of their premises with in order to keep sanitation-related diseases at bay.

Conducting sensitization on cancer, Alfred Jatho, a health educator at the Uganda Cancer Institute said that besides sexual encounters, some cancer types are rooted in people's lifestyles like alcoholism, smoking, poor dieting, and neglecting physical exercises.

He advised people to regularly go for screening especially for cervical and prostate cancer among women and men respectively, which he said are the leading killers among cancer types.

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