A five-year-old girl, resident of Kikubajinja zone in Luweero town is struggling to live after undergoing surgery to treat an eye cancer that left her blind. The girl, Amina Nabagesera was discharged from Ruharo Eye Centre, Mbarara on March 8, 2019, after undergoing surgery and chemotherapy to treat retinoblastoma, a rare form of cancer that rapidly develops from the immature cells of a retina, the light-detecting tissue of the eye. The surgery left Nabagesera blind after the retinas were removed. She now complains of constant pain in the eye socket and the brain. According to a medical report signed by Andrew Marengane, a histopathology technician at Ruharo Eye Centre, there is no longtime cure for Nabagesera’s eye cancer because it was detected late. The medics advised that Nabagesera is supported to live pain-free and comfortable through palliative care. Her caretakers were advised not to return the child to the centre unless there is a big recurrence of the tumor which may need removal. Nabagesera now lives with her grandmother Safina Kakasa, a resident of Kikubajinja zone in Luweero town where she was abandoned by her mother together with two other siblings last year. Kakasa, 43, said that she has failed to maintain a constant supply of the drugs which she was advised to administer in order to reduce the pain that the child is going through. She says that she needs up to Shs 300,000 every week to purchase the collection of medicines. Palliative care is a part of healthcare that focuses on relieving and preventing the suffering of patients especially those with terminal illnesses. It relies on a combined input from physicians, parents, social workers and psychologists in formulating a plan of care to relieve a patient from pain. Frank Ssekyewa, an eye specialist at Kiwoko Hospital confirmed that Nabagesera’s eye cancer can’t be cured but she can only live on palliative care for a short time because the illness was detected in advanced stages. Ssekyewa also warned the public against using herbs to treat eye sickness. According to 2014 Review of Cancer Medicines on the WHO List of Essential Medicines by Union for International Cancer Control, the estimated incidence of retinoblastoma is 1 in 16,000-18,000 births annually with between 7000 and 8000 new cases per year worldwide. The cancer appears higher in Africa and the survival rate is between 20-46% in certain African countries and as a result of lower survival rates, there are an estimated 3000 to 4000 deaths annually due to retinoblastoma. For comments, call or text us on 0752510225.
