‘A funeral, a message and a husband who listened ‘: Breast cancer story from Uganda

A funeral, a message and a husband who listened 

How a breast cancer awareness message shared at a community funeral encouraged a woman to seek medical advice  

For about three years, Grace, whose name has been changed to protect her privacy, lived with persistent breast pain that worsened around her period.  

Grace tried herbal remedies, but the pain continued. She also visited a clinic, where a breast examination found nothing wrong. She was given something for the pain and told to come back if it returned. It did, but she was still no closer to knowing what was causing it. 

The turning point came from somewhere unexpected. In many communities in the area, a funeral is one of the few occasions when large numbers of people gather in one place. When a family hosts one, a health worker is often called to speak to the crowd and pass on health messages. At one such gathering, the health worker spoke about breast cancer: the signs to look for, and why anyone with breast pain or changes should come forward to be checked. 

Grace’s husband was listening. He knew his wife had been complaining of breast pain for years, and that she had also been troubled by abdominal pain. Instead of leaving the message at the funeral, he took it home. He told his wife what he had heard and, when the time came, he did not send her alone. He brought her to the health facility himself. 

There, Grace had a clinical breast examination. She was also screened for other health conditions and was given advice suited to her situation. For a woman who had spent years going from remedy to remedy, it was the first time anyone had looked at her whole picture. 

The story did not end with Grace. While she was telling her experience to the visiting team, she explained that she has a sister who lives in another district and who is also troubled by breast pain and back pain. Grace phoned her, told her what had happened, and asked her to come to the facility to be examined too. 

Grace’s experience shows how health messages shared in familiar community settings can encourage people to seek medical advice. It also highlights the role that family members can play in sharing information and supporting one another to access care.  

Through ‘A Focus on Breast Cancer’ in Zambia and Uganda, health workers trained with support from Sanofi take breast cancer awareness beyond health facilities and into the places where communities meet. Grace’s story illustrates how a single conversation can prompt someone to seek care and ecourage them to pass that message on. 

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This case study come from ‘A Focus on Breast Cancer in Zambia and Uganda’, a project delivered by Global Health Partnerships (formerly THET) and funded by Sanofi, in partnership with the Association of Breast Surgery and Blended Learning UK.