Dr Adonay Gebreslassie, a clinical oncologist at the University Teaching Hospital of Butare (CHUB), has spent the past four years working with cancer patients in Rwanda, after previously practising at the Butaro Cancer Centre and King Faisal Hospital.

The 37-year-old Ethiopian is now part of the team providing cancer care at CHUB.

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His decision to specialise in oncology, however, dates back to his medical internship in Ethiopia in 2013, when he encountered patients who had cancer but no specialist to treat them.

At the time, he said, only three oncologists in the country had received specialist training abroad, leaving many patients without access to treatment.

"There was no access to treatment. We saw a lot of patients with cancer, but no one was treating them,” he said.

The shortage convinced him to pursue oncology. He wanted to help address the gap he had witnessed.

"I told myself that I wanted to be an oncologist, fill the gap, be part of the solution for this gap,” he said.

Gebreslassie trained in medical oncology in Ethiopia and later continued his training in Norway and Ghana. He planned to return to Ethiopia after completing his fellowship, but an armed conflict in 2021 changed his plans.

"After finishing the fellowship, there was an active war in the area where I was working. It was under siege. No one could go in, no one could go out, so I couldn’t go back,” he said.

He came to Rwanda in 2022, first working at the Butaro Cancer Centre, then at King Faisal Hospital, and later at CHUB. At Butaro, he participated in tumour boards, where doctors reviewed patients’ cancer cases, and at King Faisal Hospital, he led the weekly meetings involving students, residents and senior doctors.

Gebreslassie was involved in training two oncologists who later joined him at CHUB after completing their fellowship training.

Since arriving in Rwanda, the oncologist has seen cancer care develop, including greater availability of targeted therapies and immunotherapy, improved imaging services and an increase in the number of oncologists being trained in Rwanda and abroad.

One of the developments in Rwanda’s cancer care that Gebreslassie is proud of is the inclusion of cancer treatment medicines under the Community-Based Health Insurance (CBHI) scheme. He said the move is significant because some cancer medicines are very expensive, and covering them under CBHI can make treatment more affordable for patients.

Despite those developments, some of the hardest moments in his work come when patients arrive with advanced cancer. In some cases, the disease can no longer be cured, although treatment can extend survival or improve quality of life.

He is also affected when patients have treatable disease but cannot afford the care they need.

"When you think this disease can be treated, but you can’t do anything, it weighs on you. You feel broken. But as a physician, I try to think about how best I can help the patient.

"If I am broken, I am not going to treat anyone. So, I try to focus on what I can do to improve the patient’s care and quality of life,” he said.

Gebreslassie said he regularly treats patients with terminal cancer, but he also has patients who respond well to treatment, mainly when the disease is diagnosed early.

He sees further progress in cancer care through the decentralisation of treatment services, continued training of oncologists and improvements in diagnostic services. At CHUB, where he now works, the cancer programme is also expected to expand, including plans to introduce radiotherapy.

Outside medicine, Gebreslassie spends much of his time reading, especially when difficult cases prompt him to seek more information. He sometimes goes to the gym and watches football when his schedule allows.

He married a paediatrician who also works in Rwanda in April this year. The couple does not yet have children. His favorite Rwandan food is Ugali and yams.