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By Brenda Kageni
Ms Faith Barasa’s failed search for internship after her third year of study at Moi University was to become a blessing for children suffering from Retinoblastoma.
Barasa, a fourth year micro-enterprise Management student, had a lot of free time. A goodwill volunteer, she sought a place to expend her energies.
A talk with a neighbour Mr Brian Ouma CEO of Daisy’s Eye Cancer Foundation (DECF) an NGO working to fight retinoblastoma deaths, was to determine how she would spend her vacation. She would create awareness on retinoblastoma. Barasa spends her days in Ward 11 at Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH).
Retinoblastoma affects children below the age of seven and is caused by a genetic mutation, which can be passed from parent to child. About 1,500 children are affected annually in Africa.
When discovered early, it is a cheap cancer to cure. One or both eyes may be affected. Early diagnosis and treatment prevents it from spreading to the optic nerve and brain, or to the bone marrow.
Once tumours have spread outside the eye, the chances of survival are limited. Due to the high cost of cancer treatment, many children stay in hospital for long.
Kahaki Kimani, an eye surgeon at KNH and a consultant for Daisy’s Eye Cancer Fund says removing an affected eye costs about Sh10,000. However, once the cancer has spread, treatment averages Sh300,000 to Sh500,000.
Celebrate life
Barasa was touched by the plight of affected children at KNH and marshalled four volunteers to start a Kenyan version of Art for Eyes Project. Art for Eyes is an Art Day, Global Gallery and Auction that celebrate life, while raising awareness of eye cancer across the globe. It was founded in 2005 in Canada. The project kept children engaged with painting and beadwork.
"Since I didn’t know how to draw, I sold the idea to the volunteers I could reach," she says.
While painting with the children, she came across volunteers from Rahimtulla Museum of Modern Arts (RaMoMa) who were drawing with children and the idea to partner with the museum was born. RaMoMa gave free exhibition space for two weeks.
On August 5, DECF began a two-week art project with Retinoblastoma patients at Kenyatta National Hospital.
The works of art by the children and their parents have been on exhibition to raise awareness of Retinoblastoma. The works of art will later be auctioned.
"Retinoblastoma has been neglected yet it is a killer disease. Awareness could solve 90 per cent of the cases," says Barasa.
As a business management student, Barasa teaches business skills to women in Eldoret. She intends to further Art for Eyes project with the children in Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital.
Fatality rate
According to Dr Kahaki Kimani, an eye specialist with special interest in the disease, retinoblastoma is almost 100 per cent curable if diagnosed early. She attributes its high fatality rate to the fact that many do not know about it.
"Even when parents notice something wrong with the eye, many ignore," she says.
Some early symptoms include squinty eye as the tumour pushes through, red eyes and the most common is "leukocoria" – a white glow in the eye, which may be seen in low light or flash photography.
"The eye glows like that of a cat when lights are switched on. By the time you see the white blob at day time, it is a big tumour," she says.
Any hospital with an eye specialist can treat RB. Treatment involves removal of the eye, although in early detection, the eye can be treated.
Kimani says that about three quarter of cases presented at the hospital come when the cancer has spread beyond the eye. She advises parents to see an optician for any problem with children’s eyes.
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