Move fast to alleviate cancer patients' pain

Cancer patients seeking medical help at the largest referral hospital in East and Central Africa, Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH), are facing serious challenges with the ever-growing backlog of cancer treatment cases. At least 1,000 patients have so far been placed on the waiting list, which stretches to 2017. A two-year wait for someone suffering the pain of cancer could mean that many of them will not be lucky to receive any form of treatment at all. This is not only sad, it is frightening and the Government must wake up to the fact that it has a responsibility to its citizens to make access to medical treatment and facilities easy.

Many cancer patients prefer KNH for its relatively low cost. The hospital charges Sh500 per session, compared to other medical facilities around the country that charge as much as Sh10,000 per session. Consequently, though KNH's capacity is about 10 patients per day, there are more than 100 cancer sufferers who seek attention at the hospital daily.

The poor state of affairs at the hospital has seen patients lose their lives to cancer, the third largest killer after Malaria and pneumonia. Out of the reported 40,000 new cases of cancer each year, available statistics indicate 27,000 succumb to death due to inadequate or late treatment, yet this need not be the case.

Despite the much-hyped Sh38 billion medical equipment supply contract launched by the Government early last year with the aim of equipping two hospitals in each of the 47 counties with cancer and dialysis machines to ease congestion at KNH, there has been no impact. Not only did governors object to an arrangement they claimed they were not party to, the few machines at KNH suffer constant breakdowns, further compounding the situation.

There is need for further Government intervention to give cancer patients a fighting chance by making treatment easily available and affordable. The issue of budgets always comes up, but Parliament can legislate to ensure the Ministry of Health gets adequate funds to operate smoothly and effectively. The importance of good health to economic development cannot be overemphasized.