Warning: This video contains footage some people may find distressing.
Silas was just 34 years old when his life was cut short by skin cancer. In the final days of his battle, he welcomed our team into his home in rural Tanzania and asked for his story to be captured. He wanted his pain to be shared, to bring the tragic reality of skin cancer into public awareness.
Silas lived and died in a time where people with albinism had virtually no access to dermatological healthcare. Sunscreen was inaccessible; practising dermatologists were few and far between; and treatment was prohibitively expensive. Silas’ death was entirely preventable, and serves as a heartbreaking reminder of what can happen when people with albinism are unable to access the support they need and the care they deserve.
Standing Voice’s Skin Cancer Prevention Programme launched shortly after Silas’ death. It is the legacy of his struggle – and the struggle of so many others – that motivates us to continue expanding our clinics until people with albinism can enjoy universal access to quality dermatological healthcare.
