Boy who quit school due to throat cancer calls for help

Haron Mutai. He who quit school after he was diagnosed with throat cancer has asked well-wishers to help him access treatment. (PHOTO: COURTESY)

A boy who quit school after he was diagnosed with throat cancer has asked well-wishers to help him access treatment.

Haron Mutai, 19, a former student at Kirunget Secondary School, learned of his condition in June at Tenwek Mission Hospital.

Mutai, the second-born in a family of four boys and one girl, lives with his parents in an internally displaced persons' camp in Kiptagich, Nakuru County.

"It started like a small pimple. It was painless and would disappear and reappear after some time," he said.

"This was in mid-2015 but towards the end of that year, it started swelling and I became weak. This did not bother me since I was hopeful that all would be well."

Speaking to The Standard in Nairobi, Mutai said the disease weakened him further, prompting him to quit school.

His parents are casual labourers and cannot raise the Sh300,000 required for his treatment.

Mutai, who has never undergone any therapy, is now appealing to well-wishers to help him raise the money. He also hopes to go back to school to pursue his dream, which for now seems to have taken a back seat.

He said: "Since I was diagnosed with the disease, I have been moving from one place to another seeking funds, but to no avail."

Mutai is optimistic that God will come to his rescue.

"I appeal to well-wishers, whether individuals, churches, charitable organisations or the Government to help me get treatment so that I can improve the living standard of my family and buy land for my parents," he said.

Research by experts from Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital shows throat cancer is the most common cancer in men in Western Kenya. It kills at least 20 people every month in Kenya.