Dar es Salaam, April 01, 2023: Shujaa Cancer Foundation, in collaboration with Aga Khan Hospital, Ocean Road Cancer Institute, and Tanzania Cancer Care Project, held a panel discussion which went by the name of “Fear of Recurrence” to cancer survivors. The debate occurred at the Aga Khan Hospital premises and was attended physically and virtually. More than 20 survivors attended physically, and 22 joined via Zoom link. Other attendees included medical students, counsellors, health & science journalist, patient advocate, and other staff from the Shujaa Cancer Foundation. Among others, the following topics were presented and discussed by the facilitators:
- What is the meaning of cancer recurrence;
- Which types and stages of breast cancer are more likely to recur;
- How to decrease the likelihood of recurrence;
- What is the meaning of fear and how to combat it;
The information shared allowed survivors to gain much understanding and alleviated most of their concerns and fear. The survivors thanked the Shujaa Cancer Foundation for organizing such a discussion. They thanked the oncologist, psychologist, and counsellor for the shared knowledge, which they said changed their mindset on recurrence issues.
The entire discussion successfully fulfilled the Shujaa Cancer Foundation “Rudisha Tabasamu” mission, as enlightening and helped to rejuvenate the hearts and minds of the participants. They believe this has impacted all those who participated and hope to continue such discussions and invite more participants. Shujaa Cancer Foundation thanked the Management of Aga Khan Hospital for hosting the panel discussion and the IT team for supporting the Zoom conference.