Love saved me, says cancer survivor

What the report says

The Observer reports that Jennifer Nyamwija, a 49-year-old Ugandan cancer survivor, is using her experience to urge earlier screening and stronger family support for patients. She recalls first feeling persistent lower back pain, later noticing cervical symptoms and undergoing surgery at a clinic in Mbarara, but the illness returned with bleeding and was eventually identified as cervical cancer after she was encouraged by her brother to seek screening.

According to the article, Nyamwija received care at the Uganda Cancer Institute, where she went through patient navigation before diagnosis and treatment. Doctors first found stage two cervical cancer, but by the time chemotherapy began the disease had advanced to stage three. She underwent radiotherapy and chemotherapy, later recovered, and then faced a recurrence that led to a second round of chemotherapy. The story says she also benefited from counselling and guidance from health workers, including a staff member identified as Stellah, and from support from her brother, a doctor based in Kampala.

Nyamwija says the experience left her with lasting financial and lifestyle challenges, since she can no longer do the physically demanding work she once did running a restaurant and working on her farm. Her message now is that unusual symptoms should not be ignored, screening should happen early, and people should avoid relying on herbal or traditional healers for cancer treatment. More broadly, the piece underscores the role of emotional and practical support in cancer recovery in Uganda.