Alice's Story
"I never thought I would ever get cancer... and then I did!
When it happened, I thought my life was over. Cancer happened to me in the spring of 2017 when I was diagnosed with an acute promyelocytic leukemia. I was reluctant to believe my oncologist - Dr. Jose Bufill - when he offered an optimistic outlook for the future.
After some hesitation, I chose to begin treatment. What other option was there...? It was no walk in the park. Side effects happened, but I eventually entered a complete remission, and I remain surprised and grateful to have survived.
I also realized that - as I had feared -my past life - the one before leukemia - was in fact over and a new way of looking at the world began to take hold. A life where you appreciate every moment and are filled with a desire to enrich the time you have left.
For me this meant beginning the effort of improving the care of cancer patients in my beloved Rwanda. It meant beginning of the Komera Rwanda! Cancer Foundation".
A collaboration
in favor of Rwandans
"When Alice was first diagnosed, she seemed skeptical at the possibility of successful outcomes following cancer treatments. She had experienced cancer among family and friends in Rwanda, and the difficulties they faced obtaining care for their illness seemed almost insurmountable. The default position in many developing countries is that
cancer is a call to prepare for death.
But Alice is not someone who shrinks from a challenge and her determination convinced me that making an effort to address the many and varied needs of cancer patients in Rwanda is a worthwhile cause. As we begin our great Komera adventure, we are looking forward to working with many talented and generous health care professionals, academic and business leaders, and civil authorities both in Rwanda and around the world to serve the needs
of cancer patients there."
