Carmen Monge-Montero, Researcher and Global Cancer Advocate, shared a post on LinkedIn:
“Interview N81 — CS Eva Odongo (Kenya) | Mano Beyond Cancer
‘I want a system that takes care of patients — physically, psychologically, emotionally, and financially.’
I met Eva during my time in the A Fresh Chapter Africa Elevate Program, where we worked together to support survivors in moving from patient to advocate for policy change. From the very beginning, her clarity, empathy, and commitment to improving cancer care stood out.
In this conversation, Eva Odango, a breast cancer survivor and advocate from Kenya, shares what it means to live with cancer in a system still shaped by stigma, limited resources, and structural gaps.
She talks about:
- Navigating cancer care in Kenya and the isolation stigma creates
- The assumptions and comments people make about breast cancer
- Why listening, without judgment, is central to advocacy
- The need for patient-centered systems that address emotional, psychological, and financial realities
- How creativity and humor remain part of who she is, before and after cancer
This interview is a reminder that effective cancer advocacy starts by listening to lived experience, and then translating it into systems change.
Thank you, Eva, for the work you do and for sharing your story so openly.”
More posts featuring Carmen Monge-Montero.
