Racing to fight cancer in Rwanda

NASCAR's Jeff Gordon blogs about his recent visit to see PIH's work to fight cancer in Rwanda.

Jeff Gordon at Butaro Hospital in Rwanda. ©Jeff Gordon, Inc.

By Jeff Gordon

NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon recently visited Rwanda with his family and staff from the Jeff Gordon Children's Foundation. His foundation is supporting PIH's efforts to fight cancer in poor, rural communities. An excerpt from his travel journal is posted below. Read his full entry on the Jeff Gordon Children's Foundation website.

Day 3:

We had a two and a half hour drive up a bumpy and hilly dirt road to Rwinkwavu. Rwinkwavu is a public hospital that is supported by Partners In Health, which is the organization that the Jeff Gordon Children’s Foundation has partnered with for our efforts in Rwanda. The landscape and topography of Rwanda is absolutely beautiful, and the view from the hospital in Rwinkwavu is amazing. We toured the grounds before going to the pediatric cancer wing to visit with the children.

	Jeff Gordon's daughter Ella hands a Promise Circle quilt to a patient. ©Jeff Gordon, Inc.

Prior to the trip, the women of The Promise Circle (an amazing group of women who support the Jeff Gordon Children’s Foundation) sewed nearly 100 handmade quilts that we took with us to give out while we were there. Ella helped Ingrid, Trish (Director of the Jeff Gordon Children’s Foundation) and I pass out the quilts to both the children and their mothers. I’ve never been more proud of anything in my life. To see our 4-year old daughter go through the room and give out these quilts with such compassion and tell each of them, ‘I hope you feel better’, is something that makes you so proud as a parent.

On our return trip, we stopped at an oncology patient’s home. She was 14 years old and had been successfully treated at the Rwinkwavu hospital for Burkitt’s Lymphoma, (a form of pediatric cancer). Previously, she had a large tumor growing on the side of her face. With the proper treatment that was made available through Partners In Health and their supporting partners, she is doing very well and has made a considerable recovery. Stories like this are what inspire me to continue our work in Rwanda.

Watch Francine's Story.

Day 4:

Our second full day in Rwanda began early as we set out on a four hour car ride to the city of Butaro on some of the roughest and most treacherous roads I’ve ever seen. Butaro is a high elevation, rural city that is within one of the most densely populated districts of the country. The Ministry of Health hospital in Butaro is also supported by Partners In Health. The facility was recently completed in February of 2011. While the facility is beautiful, they still lack some of the equipment and treatment needed to properly care for patients with some cancers and other diseases.

Rwanda is the most densely populated country in Africa. It is comparable in size to the state of Maryland and has a population of 11 million people. Out of 11 million people, the entire country has only one doctor that is a cancer specialist. This is where the Jeff Gordon Children’s Foundation, Partners In Health and the Ministry of Health of Rwanda will work together to construct a pediatric cancer center that will provide preventative care and treatment.

Once we arrived at Butaro, we ate lunch and were entertained by some of the locals who performed traditional dances. It was great, and yes they did get me out there with them. No, I didn’t show them any break dancing moves.

The level of care at Butaro is definitely more advanced than at other healthcare facilities in the country, but we still faced the realities of cancer rampant among the children at Butaro. We were once again able to provide some of the children and mothers with quilts from The Promise Circle which brought a smile and joy to their faces if only for a moment. I wish I could put into words how much it moves you when you are knelt down in front of a sick child battling cancer and you see the pain and hurt in their eyes. You know in your heart that it just isn’t right and that we have to do something about it.

	Jeff Gordon and Dr. Lawrence Shulman of Dana Farber Cancer Institute chat with a patient. ©Jeff Gordon, Inc.

We were accompanied on our trip by Dr. Larry Schulman who is the Chief Medical Officer at the Dana Farber Institute and a leading oncologist. He said something that I still hear ringing in my ears, “Jeff, the stark truth is that if any of us died and were not here tomorrow, there would be plenty of others in the United States who could help provide cancer care to children there. They can get along fine without me or help from people like you and your foundation. But, if we weren’t here tomorrow helping inRwanda, there is no one e lse. There is no one else currently helping to provide cancer care and treatment here in Rwanda. If we don’t help these children, they die.”

Read the full journal entry on the Jeff Gordon Children's Foundation website.

Dr. Lawrence Shulman with Jeff Gordon with his wife and daughter during their visit to Rwanda. ©Jeff Gordon, Inc.