By Kefa Senoga
If anyone had been in the shoes of Abaliwano Yvette, chances are he/she would have made the same career decision. Yvette, a student of Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery at the Uganda Christian University (UCU) School of Medicine (SoM), is surrounded by medical professionals at her home.
Her father, Dr. Abaliwano Mark, is a dental surgeon working with Uganda’s central bank. Yvette’s mother, Dr. Walusansa Victoria, works with the Uganda Cancer Institute, where she is the organization’s Deputy Director, consultant oncologist and the clinical head.
And that’s not all. Yvette’s extended family, too, has a sizable number of medical practitioners. Two of her uncles are doctors, and so is one of her aunts, as well as some of her cousins.
There is no doubt that the Abaliwano family members have been living off benefits that the parents have been accruing from their employment in the medical profession. That could have been a big factor in pulling Yvette into the career she is pursuing.
The four years she has been a student at the SoM have been a real test to Yvette’s resolve to pursue her dream course. “Many of my colleagues with whom I completed secondary school have since graduated — those who undertook courses of three or four years,” Yvette, a member of the SoM writing club, noted.
However, she explained that determination and keeping hope alive have always conspired to give her the much-needed patience for her to complete her five-year course.
She said one of the attractions to the medical course is the multiplicity of disciplines that one can specialize in. For Yvette’s case, the charm of her mother has finally lured her into considering specializing in oncology — the study, treatment, diagnosis and prevention of cancer.
Research shows that the incidence and mortality due to cancer are increasing globally. The global cancer burden is predicted to rise to 22 million cases and 11 million deaths by 2030. In Uganda, government statistics indicate that about 33,000 Ugandans are diagnosed with cancer every year, of which, only about 7,400 make it for care at the Uganda Cancer Institute.
It’s damning statistics like these that have drawn Yvette into seeking to make a mark in the fight against the world’s second-leading cause of death.
“I hope to set up a fitness clinic and possibly help in reducing obesity among people,” she said. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, being overweight increases the risk of getting up to 13 types of cancer, which make up 40% of the cancers diagnosed in the United States each year.
Yvette strongly discourages anyone who wants to pursue the medical profession purely for financial benefit. “Being a doctor means offering service to the community. It is not guaranteed that you will get the amount of money that you desire, especially in Uganda” she says.
Others, Yvette explains, seek to pursue the career because of the prestige which comes with holding the title “doctor.” However, many of such people, according to Yvette, end up dropping out of the course in the early stages after experiencing the rigor and the level of commitment that is required.
Yvette strongly believes the secondary school she attended — Mt. St. Mary’s College, Namagunga, a church-founded elite school in Uganda — has a lot to do with the achievements she has so far registered at the SoM. At Mt. St. Mary’s College, Namagunga, she learned good values, such as hard work and the virtue of patience. At UCU, she says her religious life has been greatly enhanced because of the institution’s reputation as a Christ-centered university not just in name, but in deed.
