Women, power and cancer:

A Lancet Commission

Dr Miriam Mutebi

 

Miriam Mutebi

Dr. Miriam Mutebi is a Breast Surgical Oncologist and Assistant Professor in the Department of Surgery at the Aga Khan University Hospital in Nairobi, Kenya. She is also the Vice-President of East Africa of the African Organization for Research and Training in Cancer (AORTIC), Chairperson for the Kenya Society of Hematology and Oncology (KESHO) and on the Board of Directors of the Union for International Cancer Control(UICC). She is the co-founder of the Pan African Women’s Association of Surgeons (PAWAS -www.africanwomensurgeons.org) and is part of the Kenya Association of Women Surgeons.


She did her general surgery residency at AKU. She subsequently did a two-year fellowship in Breast Surgical Oncology, which included a year in plastics and reconstruction at the University of Cape Town, Groote Schuur Hospital in South Africa followed by a Mammadi Soudavar International Surgical Oncology Fellowship at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York. She then worked for 2 years as a Graduate Surgical Oncology Research Fellow at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre, New York and also completed her Master’s degree in Clinical Epidemiology and Health Systems Research at the Weill Cornell University, New York, with a focus towards understanding the barriers to the diagnosis and treatment, for women with cancers in Africa, thus designing interventions to mitigate these barriers.


She is an avid supporter for the education and support for women, especially in surgery and she aims to provide mentorship for women in surgery and to improve women’s health and surgical care in Africa. She is currently pursuing a pilot's licence in order to extend breast care services to marginalised areas.