Over 1,000 people grace Jinja cancer run

Over 1,000 participants have graced this year’s Fight Women’s Cancer run organised by Rays of Hope Hospice Jinja (RHHJ) in Jinja City.

Founded in 2005, RHHJ is the only specialised palliative care provider in Busoga Sub-region and parts of Buganda.

Palliative care provides holistic relief from symptoms and stress of serious life-limiting illnesses, aiming to enhance the quality of life for both patients and their families. It begins at diagnosis and continues throughout the illness.

RHHJ has, for the sixth year in row, held this event in October, where information about breast and cervical cancer is disseminated throughout the month, and climaxes with a run, walk and ride.

This year’s event, which was held under the theme: Detect. Treat. Defeat. drew over 1,000 participants who were flagged off at Jinja Golf Club by the Third Deputy Prime Minister and Minister Without Portfolio, Ms Rukia Isanga Nakadama.

Dr Margrethe Juncker, who has worked with RHHJ since 2015, described this year’s event as “a total success, bigger, and better with more sponsors than ever”.

“Over the next year, we shall continue and further expand our activities of our mission, which is to prevent, early diagnosis and treatment, and offer palliative care to those who need it,” Dr Juncker said on October 25.

She added: “We aim to reach deeper into the corners of Busoga Sub-region and neighbouring districts, and expect to open a new field office in Namayingo in January to serve Namayingo, Bugiri, Mayuge and Busia districts, and to open the new expansion of the field office in Buyende in March or April.”

According to Dr Juncker, the event aims at creating more awareness about cancer, adding that their teams have been called out for screenings at schools, businesses, and health centres, among others.

“RHHJ is happy, willing and ready to continue helping as many women as possible because our palliative care patients remain central to our work. Presently, we have 780 patients as of this month and people are starting to become aware of the problem of cervical and breast cancer, which is a wonderful change and probably the biggest success

Earlier, the Executive Director RHHJ, Ms Sylvia Nakami, said her organisation has been engaging local organisations, businesses, and education institutions to participate, and this year, the plan was to involve the entire country.

“Many patients who have benefitted from our programme have become advocates to demystify fear that cancer is a death sentence,” Ms Nakami said in an earlier interview.

RHHJ Board Chairman, Rev Can James Kivunike, said: “My involvement with the organisation started three years ago when I registered as a life member, it has continued to-date and will continue until I pass on.

“As a church person, I am involved in RHHJ activities because those who are suffering are created by God; so, I feel obliged to communicate this information to the people who were created in the image of God; that they may be alive.”