“It is not only stomach cancer but also other cancers. You hardly take a week without hearing about someone who has died of cancer. Let us make it a routine to visit hospitals and test for several types of cancer,” he said.
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The public has been urged to make cancer screening a routine health practice to improve early detection and treatment, following the death of gospel singer Margaret Najjuma Mubiru from advanced stomach and liver cancer.
Dr. Robert Mutumba, the Ministry of Health’s deputy commissioner in charge of HIV/AIDS, warned that some cancers develop without easily detectable symptoms in their early stages, leaving patients with limited treatment options by the time the disease is discovered.
He said Najjuma’s experience highlighted the importance of seeking medical attention and undergoing appropriate screening, noting that her persistent stomach pain had initially been mistaken for ulcers.
“We are challenged by the rate at which cancer is spreading among our people. Unfortunately, some cancers do not show detectable signs and symptoms at early stages, making the situation worse when they are diagnosed late,” Mutumba said.
He urged the public to seek medical advice and undergo appropriate screening, adding that early detection can improve the chances of successful treatment.
“It is not only stomach cancer but also other cancers. You hardly take a week without hearing about someone who has died of cancer. Let us make it a routine to visit hospitals and test for several types of cancer,” he said.
Mutumba, a family friend and member of Mukono Central Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) Church, made the remarks following the death of Najjuma, the wife of Adventist pastor and former New Vision sub-editor Apollo Mubiru.
Najjuma, 44, died in the early hours of Monday, October 19, after battling stomach cancer for two and a half months. The disease had spread to her liver. She was buried on Friday, October 23, at Seeta-Nazigo Village in Nakisunga Sub-county, Mukono District, on what would have been her 44th birthday.
Mutumba said investigations conducted in August and September revealed the extent of the disease. An August scan showed multiple cancerous masses in Najjuma’s liver, while an endoscopy the following month identified five masses in different parts of her stomach.
Biopsy results released on September 29 confirmed that the stomach masses were invasive adenocarcinoma, consistent with the cancer found in her liver.
“The results confirmed that the cancer started in the stomach and later spread to the liver,” Mutumba said.
Although Najjuma received treatment at the Uganda Cancer Institute in Mulago, the disease was already advanced, leaving doctors with limited options to save her life.
Family, church mourn
Hundreds of mourners gathered at Mukono Central SDA Church on Friday morning for a requiem service before Najjuma was laid to rest at Seeta-Nazigo.
Among the church leaders who attended the service was Pr. Dr. Moses Ndimukika Maka, the former archbishop of the SDA Uganda Union and current general secretary of the church’s East and Central Africa Division.
Maka said the Mubiru family had been close friends of his for years, prompting him to travel from Nairobi, Kenya, where he works, to attend the burial.
“I have been a close friend and ally of Mubiru for some time. It is the reason I persuaded him to leave journalism and study to become a pastor, a calling he has faithfully pursued,” he said.
Other church leaders, led by East Buganda Field Bishop Jeremiah Alisengawa, praised Najjuma for her ministry, generosity and encouragement to those around her.
They urged mourners to draw comfort from their Christian faith and the hope of resurrection.
“We believe that where she has gone, there is no sorrow but rejoicing,” Alisengawa said.
Najjuma’s children, Jessy Mubiru and Jemima Mulungi, also paid emotional tributes to their mother, recalling the love and care she had given them.
Mourners were moved by the revelation that the children had not been informed about their mother’s illness before her death because the family wanted them to concentrate on their studies, particularly Jessy, who was sitting his Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE) examinations.
Even after Najjuma’s death, the family withheld the news to avoid disrupting Jessy’s examinations.
Gordon Katimbo, the headteacher of Hilton High School in Mukono, said Jessy and his younger sister, Jemima, learnt of their mother’s death on Thursday evening, after Jessy had completed his second-last examination paper. He is scheduled to sit his final paper on November 4.
Najjuma’s siblings said she had suffered from recurrent headaches since childhood.
For Mulungi, a Senior One student, witnessing her mother’s prolonged suffering strengthened her determination to become a medical doctor so she could help treat her. However, her dream of one day helping save her mother’s life was cut short by Najjuma’s death as she began her secondary education.
New Vision Editor-in-Chief Sydney Miria Babanga, accompanied by several of Mubiru’s former colleagues at Vision Group, praised the pastor as a dedicated professional and extended condolences to him and his children.
Mubiru, who worked as a journalist and later a sub-editor at Vision Group before joining Bugema University three years ago to pursue theological studies, spoke emotionally about his late wife, describing her as a loving, trusting and supportive partner.
He said Najjuma trusted him with her finances, including proceeds from her gospel music concerts.
“She was very comfortable with me handling her money. Whenever she organised music concerts, she would put me in charge of her finances,” he said.
The couple married in 2007 and had two children.