Amuru legislator vows to fight for Cancer Bill

Amuru district woman Member of Parliament has pledged to her electorates that her main focus in the 10^th Parliament will be lobbying all the MPs to support the Cancer Bill that is still before the Parliament Health Committee to be approved and enacted into law.

Lucy Akello argued that when Parliament approves and enacts the Bill into law, it will ensure that regional cancer institutes or hospitals are established in all the regions of Uganda to help save mothers and girl children who are victims of cervical cancer the burden of traveling to Mulago Cancer Ward to access treatment.

Akello explained that approving and enacting the Bill into law will greatly save the lives of many victims of cervical cancer who are unable to meet the expenses of traveling, improve their productivity and promote the spirit for regular medical checkup.

Over 80% of women with cervical cancer are diagnosed at advanced stages of the disease, usually stage III/IV and the 5 Years Survival rate stands at approximately 20%. 

Anecdotal reports indicate that cervical cancer causes 70% of gynecological deaths and over 40% of radiotherapy patients are treated for advanced cervical cancer.

Cervical cancer is the most common form of cancer affecting Ugandan women, according to the World Health Organization, which reports that every year, 3,577 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer and 2,464 die from the disease. 

By comparison, 1,100 women die of breast cancer every year, according to the Uganda Women's Health Initiative (UWHI). 

About 33.6 percent of women in the general population are estimated to harbor cervical human papillomavirus infection - the main cause of cervical cancer - at any given time.