In a bid to increase the awareness of the deadly breast cancer disease, Uganda women cancer support organization (UWOCASO) in partnership with Uganda golf club and its members, are staging the 7th breast cancer fundraising golf tournament this Friday morning at the Uganda golf club, Kitante.
Under the theme ‘I am and I will’, the tournament is expect to attract over 120 participants who will try to raise funds that will be used to cover treatment for over 50 patients (radiotherapy and chemotherapy) and also purchase artificial breasts and special bras for women who have lost breasts to cancer.
During the launch of the charitable tournament yesterday, Uganda golf club Lady Captain Ann Abeja and UPDF Member of Parliament Maj. Evelyne Asiimwe urged the public to support the cause.
“The public should look at the cause and not the game of golf. Even if someone does not play golf, we welcome his financial support to the cause because we shall only consider 120 golfers for action which the course can accommodate. It will be a short gun format of play –the players will start at once for the 18 holes,” noted Abeja, who reveled that sponsorship will go for Shs2m, 5m, Shs10m and as much as an individual or company can afford. “Registration stops on Thursday (today) at Shs50,000 per person or Shs500,000 per a team of four. It is open to all because we want to fundraise at least Shs100m from the 44m we managed to raise last year,” added Abeja.
Hon. Asiimwe, who is championing the cause said that every Member of Parliament has commits Shs1m per year to the fight against cancer.
“There is stigma that is why many affected people or survivors do not come out to sensitise masses. We need to encourage people to test and not going to medical facilities when they see symptoms or when cancer gets severe,” she said.
Judith Nakai Serunkuma, the UWOCASO Public relations director said that the funds collected last year were used to host four peer-to-peer support meetings, 6 TV and 5 radio sensitization shows, 5 cancer educational talks in corporate companies, trained 25 survivors among others.
According to World Health Organisation (WHO), there were 2,088,849 new breast cancer cases and 626,679 deaths globally last year of which 2,318 new cases and 1,076 deaths cases were in Uganda.
And despite the growing efforts to improve awareness and early detection of breast cancer in Uganda, over 75% of patients present with late disease (stage III or IV) with a 5-year survival rate of 56% breast cancer accounts for 7% of all cancers in Uganda.
