Miriam Mutebi, Consultant Breast Surgical Oncologist, shared on LinkedIn:
“If I could prescribe one thing alongside surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy, it would be community.
This weekend, I had the privilege of spending the day with our Breast Cancer Support Group at Aga Khan University Hospital.
The programme itself was beautifully simple. We started with Zumba. We learned from our multidisciplinary team, explored arttherapy and shared practical resources, stories and laughter. The day ended around a shared meal.
It was evident that healing happens in many different ways. Sometimes in an operating theatre, other times in an infusion suite.
And still other times when someone says, ‘I know exactly how you feel.’
The formal sessions were valuable. But the real healing happened in between. In the practical tips shared between people who just got it, the laughter, the conversations over lunch, and the hugs at the end of the day.
None of it appears in clinical guidelines. Yet that is often where recovery begins.
Support Groups are not an optional extra. They are an essential part of comprehensive breast cancer care because they create space for the questions that medicine alone cannot answer:
- How do I adjust to my new body?
- How do I rebuild my confidence?
- How do I move forward?
As health workers, we rightly celebrate advances in diagnosis and treatment. We should celebrate just as loudly the communities that help people live well beyond cancer.
My sincere thanks to every patient, caregiver, volunteer, member of our multidisciplinary team, and everyone who helped make the day so special.
Your openness, generosity and willingness to support one another reminded us that while medicine treats disease, community helps people recover.
Because sometimes, the most important prescription we can offer is the reminder that no one has to walk the journey alone.”
