Miriam Mutebi to mentor women into breast cancer surgery field
Dr Miriam Mutebi, a breast surgical oncologist at Aga Khan University Hospital.
What you need to know:
- Dr Miriam Mutebi expresses concern that cultural barriers and other factors continue to prohibit many women from venturing into science fields.
- In 2019, she, alongside Mr Radovan Boca, pioneered the 'Deep Inferior Epigastric Perforator' (DIEP) flap in East Africa; DIEP is a breast reconstruction procedure.
- She is currently pursuing a pilot’s licence to be able to extend breast care to the marginalised areas.
Growing up, Dr Miriam Mutebi was torn between pursuing medicine and journalism.
After much thought, she approached her father to help her decide. He told her to go for what she was more passionate about.
Having volunteered at Aga Khan Hospital in her early years, she opted for medicine. However, Dr Mutebi admits she still has a passion for writing, which she does in her free time.
Training in medicine has seen the clinical epidemiologist and health systems researcher shatter the glass ceiling for women in the field, becoming the first female breast surgeon in Kenya.
Science fields
In an interview with Nation.Africa, she notes the need to support women pursuing medicine to ensure a diverse healthcare workforce. “It is sad that some cultural barriers and other factors continue to prohibit many women from venturing into science fields.”
Dr Mutebi, currently a consultant breast surgical oncologist at Aga Khan University Hospital, says it is important to fight the biases behind the low number of girls enrolling for science, technology, engineering and mathematics courses by providing more support.
She champions education and women empowerment and training, especially in surgery. She aims to mentor women into surgery and improve women’s health and surgical care on the continent. This involves offering female surgeons the much-needed support to excel in their career.
The Kianda School alumna describes her best moments as being able to walk with a patient through a treatment and recovery journey and seeing them get on with their lives again. And the worst is when a patient fails to do well and the disease worsens.
Achievements
Her achievements include extensive research geared towards improving the management and treatment of breast cancer. In 2019, she, alongside Mr Radovan Boca, pioneered the 'Deep Inferior Epigastric Perforator' (DIEP) flap in East Africa. DIEP is a breast reconstruction procedure that involves harvesting flesh from a patient and making her a breast, especially those who have had mastectomy.
Dr Mutebi has impressive academic qualifications, including a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery from the University of Nairobi (2004). She has a Master’s in Medicine (Surgery) from Aga Khan University and an MSc in Clinical Epidemiology from Weill Cornell University, New York, and a Master’s in Clinical Epidemiology and Health Systems Research from Weill Cornell University, with a focus on understanding the barriers to the diagnosis and treatment for women with cancers in Africa, thus designing barrier-mitigating interventions.
The oncologist has also been a Graduate Surgical Oncology Fellow at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre in New York. From 2013 to 2014, she attended a Breast Surgical Oncology Fellowship at the University of Cape Town Groote Schuur Hospital. Her areas of interest include women’s cancers, surgical care and health systems research.
Leadership
She is the president-elect, African Organisation for Research and Training in Cancer, and a member of the Kenya Association of Women Surgeons, the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the American Society of Breast Surgeons and the American College of Surgeons, the American Association of Cancer Research, the Association of Medical Educators and the Surgical Society of Kenya.
She is the co-founder of the Pan African Women’s Association of Surgeons and sits on the board of directors of the Union for International Cancer Control representing Africa. Dr Mutebi is also an assistant professor of General Surgery at Aga Khan University's Medical College. She chairs the Commonwealth Taskforce for Global Elimination of Cervical Cancer and the Kenya Society of Haematology and Oncology.
Last year, the Health ministry appointed her to co-chair a government taskforce mandated to review the institutional, policy and legal framework for cancer management. She is currently pursuing a pilot’s licence to be able to extend breast care to the marginalised areas. What keeps her going? Her mantra, which is making a difference in people’s lives, she says.
