One disease, two associations, 4 thousand screenings per year and two diagnosis centers

10 years ago, Salih Yüce was diagnosed with soft tissue cancer and underwent chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatment for a long time. During the treatment period, he promised himself that if he could triumph over cancer, he would share his experiences as a patient, as a father and as a person with the society and specifically with other cancer patients. After he triumphed over cancer, he established the “Help and Love Association for Cancer Patients” in Muş. Via this Association, he implemented various projects to fight against cancer since 2004.

Since 2007, Salih Yüce has been organizing “International Oncology Days” with a different theme each year in Muş and with the participation of representatives from public institutions, NGOs, international organizations, and youth centers. Along with the increasing number of cancer patients in Muş and its environs, the “Mobile Mammography” project of the Association proved that it is necessary to put more emphasis on early diagnosis.

As a result of this urgent necessity, Salih Yüce applied to the Embassy of Japan’s Development Program, and with the support of Novartis Oncology, he started the “Mobile Cancer Screening Vehicle” project. Within the project, a fully-equipped vehicle containing a mammography device visited 12 cities in the region and provided breast cancer screenings via the Provincial Directorate of Public Health. With this mobile vehicle, more than 2,500 screenings have been provided and 3 women were diagnosed in the early stage of the disease.

He told his fight with cancer in 17 countries

Through the efforts of Salih Yüce, an Early Diagnosis and a Chemotherapy Center at the state hospital were established in Muş. He received an award for all these efforts from the Ministry of Health and in 2011 he was invited by the EU Commission as a speaker to participate in the European Cancer Week program. Seeing his projects, other associations in different countries also invited him to many conferences and Salih Yüce shared his experiences in 17 countries.