Wambua's fight with brain tumor, blurry vision and Sh2.5m bill

Brain Tumor concept. [GettyImages]

In March 2024, Paul Wambua’s life took an unexpected turn. Severe headaches disrupted his daily routine of running a Jua Kali stall.

At first, the 61-year-old started losing his vision but assumed it was normal. However, the blurry vision accompanied by severe headaches persisted.

Weeks after experiencing the symptoms, Wambua went to the hospital.

This visit would, however, become just one of many to come. “I went to hospital for treatment; after a week I had to go back to hospital. I feared my eyes would be damaged”.

At this point, Wambua had made more than six hospital visits. “I was in a lot of pain I couldn’t even sleep”.

He says, “I stayed on the couch throughout the night. I had a severe headache. I couldn’t see anything”.

The pain forced Wambua to stay at home. This predicament would mean Wambua could not continue with his daily Jua Kali hustle to support his family.

By the time doctors diagnosed him with a brain tumor, the father of four had been to four hospitals. A month later, he would seek a second opinion, which showed the tumor.

“They told me that I was going to go through surgery,” Wambua remembers.

He also recalls suffering excruciating pain in his joints, affecting his ability to walk on steep slopes. He says mentally he was not affected; however, he admits that before the diagnosis, he did not know about a brain tumor.

“I had not heard of a brain tumor before,” Wambua.

He was referred to Aga Khan Hospital for specialised treatment. While this was a relief, it presented an even bigger burden for the father of four.

Wambua was slapped with an estimated bill of Sh2.5 million at Aga Khan, or a trip to India for the brain surgery, both of which were a painfully distant dream for him.

“I was really worried when I heard that such conditions are treated in India,” Wambua reckoned, noting that he couldn’t bring up the conversation to his family, “I saw my end”.

“I was shocked. I did a rough calculation of what would cost to go to India for treatment, and I could not afford it,” Wambua recalls.

At the hospital, he was relieved it was not an open surgery, the doctor assured him he would remove the tumor through the nose, Endoscopic Endonasal Surgery (EES).

India is a leading global hub for advanced brain tumor treatment. On average, brain tumor surgeries in India range between Sh710,875 (usd5,500) to Sh1.45 million (usd11,270), depending heavily on the complexity of the tumor and the specific facility chosen.

Healthcare data reveals that approximately 10,000 Kenyan patients travel to India annually for specialized medical care, with oncology and neurosurgery consistently ranking among the top three primary drivers for travel.

Data on medical tourism by the Ministry of Health (MoH) has shown that India attracts roughly 97 per cent of all Kenyans who seek treatment abroad.

After all the hustle, Wambua would find relief, as his hospital bill was catered for by the hospital and the Social Health Authority.

“The hospital was kind enough to settle the Sh2 million to cover my surgery, while SHA covered the remaining Sh500,000,” Wambua.

Now in his recovery journey, Wambua says his eyes haven’t fully recovered yet, but a lot has improved since the surgery on 25 December 2025.

Today, many Kenyans are burdened by the high cost of healthcare, which is further compounded by little disposable income, due to the high cost of living.

Global health and economic studies have documented poverty and homelessness as a result of getting trapped by unexpected hospital bills.

A joint World Health Organization (WHO) and World Bank report highlights that in 2022, 2.1 billion people globally face financial hardship due to out-of-pocket health expenses, with 1.6 billion pushed deeper into poverty.

In Africa alone, soaring healthcare costs continue to drive over 150 million people into poverty each year

In Kenya, many people rely on out-of-pocket payment for medical services, despite aggressive push by Insurers and authorities.

Wambua’s case is not unique. Many families across the country have built their lives on a steady payment from their pockets, when the reality is, a single hospital bill can consume an entire household’s savings.

A 2023 Budget Watch by the Parliamentary Budget Office showed that Kenyans spend about Sh150 billion each year directly from their pockets on healthcare.

Further, according to the 2022 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey, only about one in four people had some form of health insurance.

The World Health Organisation’s 2024 assessment of Kenya’s health-financing system also highlighted fragmentation across coverage schemes and the need for stronger financial protection.

Like many average people, Wambua’s living condition changed drastically.

Currently living with his son, Wambua cannot afford his own place, as the condition took him off work.

“My life changed a lot. I feel so bad because I don’t have a place of my own,” Wambua said.

Initially, Wambua humble abode was near a river bank, and it was swept away, forcing him to move in with his son in a single room apartment in Njiru, Nairobi.

Wambua is married with four children. He says his health condition which has robbed him of his livelihood affected his family in a big way.

“My wife was mostly affected and my daughter who was taking care of me in hospital,”

Typically, brain tumors present themselves differently depending on the on the tumor's size, growth rate, and exactly where it is located in the brain.

Clinical evidence shows that common signs include persistent, severe headaches that get worse in the morning, sudden seizures, vision or hearing loss, and unexplained balance or speech problems.

Dr Beverly Cheserem, an Assistant Professor and Consultant Neurosurgeon based at Aga Khan University Hospital, is one of the two doctors who undertook the surgery on Mr. Wambua.

According to Dr Cheserem, Wambua’s tumor was in the pituitary area, between the eyes and behind the nose.

For individuals who present with Brain tumor, in some instances For both men and women, their libido can become particularly low. For women, their periods can disappear, due to the excess production of a hormone called prolactin.

“Another hormone that can be produced in excess is cortisol. In this situation, people gain a lot of weight, develop skin stretch marks, and may experience high blood pressure, diabetes, cataract formation, weakness of the bones,” Dr Cheserem said.

She adds, growth hormones may also be produced in excess, making children grow rapidly and unusually tall. “If it happens after puberty, people can develop coarse facial features, a large tongue, spacing of the teeth, high blood pressure, diabetes, and rapidly changing shoe and clothing sizes. They also tend to be very sweaty”.

“By the same token, as the tumor grows, it can shut down these hormones and create the opposite effect,” she posed.

Brain tumors also lead to visual failure. Typically, it starts with a gradual narrowing of the visual field. Over time, the edges slowly disappear and people begin missing things to the side.

“As it becomes more advanced, patients may start bumping into doors,” She said.

And while pituitary adenomas are overwhelmingly benign, they are highly treatable, and its main effects relate to hormones, fertility, and vision.

“All of us should have our eyes tested periodically. People should specifically ask for a visual field test,” she recommended.

According to Cheserem, lack of exact brain tumor incidence in the country is a major challenge when it comes to addressing barriers to awareness.

“Many people have their visual problems attributed to something else until someone eventually thinks to order a head scan,” she posed.

In Kenya, there are more than 70 neurosurgeons “comfortably, I would say about half of those neurosurgeons can perform pituitary surgery”.

Pituitary patients are managed by a team that includes a pituitary surgeon, an endocrinologist, an ophthalmologist, and occasionally a radiation oncologist.

“One challenge is that people receive a diagnosis and immediately decide to travel abroad, where they often receive what I would call episodic care,” she says, “the vast majority of patients who come to my clinic do not actually require surgery”.

“Before someone gets on a plane, I always advise them to first seek an expert opinion locally,” Dr. Cheserem said the country already has laboratory services, endocrinology, ophthalmology, surgery, and radiology capacities.