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Runcie C.W. Chidebe Highlights Impact of Upgrade Oncology Program at ASCO 2025

Runcie C.W. Chidebe/LinkedIn

Jun 4, 2025, 10:10

Runcie C.W. Chidebe Highlights Impact of Upgrade Oncology Program at ASCO 2025

Runcie C.W. Chidebe, Executive Director of Project PINK BLUE, shared a post on LinkedIn:

“Years ago, many of our cancer patients would come to Project PINK BLUE’s office and our support group meeting to complain about their care outcomes and their experiences.

We started asking ourselves why is our patient having poor outcomes. What can we do? As a nonprofit that listens to patients and patient-focused, instead of blaming the healthcare system or the providers, we decided to explore solutions.

In 2018, Project PINK BLUE started an health system intervention known as Upgrade Oncology: U.S. -Nigeria Science & Technology Exchange Program. In this program, we brought two medical oncologists from the United States to Nigeria to provide medical oncology training to our oncologists in Nigeria.

The training provided forty-four (44) Nigerian oncologists with updated knowledge on medical oncology, with focus on breast, prostate, leukemia, childhood, colorectal cancers and pregnancy in cancer patients. We had oncologists from 11 university teaching hospital and some private facilities.

Yesterday, I met with Dr. Tracey O’ Connor MD, one of the U.S. based medical oncologists who we brought to Nigeria for the medical oncology training. Thank you so much Tracey for planting seeds that have germinated greatly in Nigeria. Most of the oncologists who were trained in 2018 are now consultants doing phenomenal work, improving care and giving our patients the best care.

I will like to end by saying: stop blaming cancer doctors in Nigeria for poor outcomes, people cannot give what they don’t have. Ask questions on what can be done to improve the system and train the experts to improve care.

Kudos to American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) for bringing us together.

Special thanks to U.S. Embassy in Nigeria, Fulbright Specialists Program, Global Ties U.S. in partnership with Federal Ministry of Health.”

Runcie C.W. Chidebe shared the progress of the Upgrade Oncology program, initiated in 2018 to improve cancer care training in Nigeria through U.S.-led medical oncology education. The program has enhanced expertise among local oncologists and contributed to better patient care.

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#cancer patients American Society of Clinical Oncology ASCO25 cancer Federal Ministry of Health fight against cancer Fulbright Specialists Program Global fight against cancer healthcare MedOnc Nigeria OncoDaily Oncology Pink Blue Runcie C.W. Chidebe Tracey O’ Connor U.S. -Nigeria Science & Technology Exchange Program U.S. Embassy United States Upgrade Oncology

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