Health Ministry denies frustrating Carol Atuhairwe's treatment

May 10, 2016

The initial medical team from the USA can no longer carry out surgery on Carol

The Ministry of Health has neither refused nor delayed approval of any paperwork for Carol Atuhairwe, a cancer patient, to travel abroad for treatment.

The public has been raising funds for Carol to go to the US, where she had been referred for treatment.

However, there have been rumours circulating, especially on social media, that Carol had been denied travel documents.

In a statement, Jane Ruth Aceng, the Director General of Health Services, stated that to date, the Medical Board is still waiting to receive documents to this effect.

Information from the Cancer Institute where Carol has been receiving treatment for the last two years indicates that a multi-disciplinary team of Uganda Cancer Institute (UCI) meeting with the visiting surgeons Dr. Chad Zender from Cleveland, Ohio and Prof. James Netterville from Venderbilt University in Tennessee agreed that it was less risky to handle Carol's condition at the Uganda Cancer Institute currently and requires close care and her condition is very delicate.

Working closely with Carol's family, alternative medication has been suggested and this will be administered for an indefinite period depending on the response, after which, further options could be explored on re-evaluation.

The statement also disclosed that since the initial medical team from the USA can no longer carry out surgery on Carol, the institute is working on finding an alternative international health facility which can ably handle her case.

Once this is secured, her request for referral will then be generated and forwarded to the Medical Board.

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});