Equip counties to deal with cancers, stakeholders urge government

Health stakeholders have asked the government to incorporate county governments in providing quality health care services to cancer survivors amid Covid-19 pandemic.

Dr Catherine Nyongesa, a clinical Oncologist at Kenyatta National Hospital said counties should equip infrastructure for treating and managing the disease.

Dr Nyongesa said it is worrying that a number of patients are forced to travel to Nairobi for services, an issue that drains them physically, financially and psychologically.

The cancer expert was speaking during launch of breast cancer awareness month, spearheaded by Roche.

Roche is a multinational healthcare company that deals with pharmaceuticals and diagnostics.

“As a country, there is need to prioritise infrastructure, reduce cost of medication to be affordable,” said Dr Nyongesa.

She said accessing services on time will lead to early diagnosis and treatment.

Following the Covid-19 pandemic, she said a number of cancer survivors could not travel to Nairobi to access services due to lockdown that was enforced to stop spread of the virus.

She said: “Capacity building on cancer by counties will enable survivors receive health care on time.”

According to Kenyan Network of Cancer Organizations (KENCO) the country is reporting increased vulnerabilities of cancer patients amid Covid-19 pandemic, due to loss of jobs and income.

Kenco Chairperson Catherine Wachira said patients are also grappling with high cost of treatment, and trying to find food.

With treatment, the patients need quality diet for positive outcome.

She noted that Kenco is reaching out to the ministry of health to equip county hospitals even with human resource personnel to help provide quality services to survivors.

Further, she encouraged Kenyans to enroll for National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) cover to enable them access chemotherapy and radiotherapy sessions.

NHIF also provides basic chemotherapy that covers up to Sh25, 000 per session and one can go up to six sessions that are fully covered by NHIF.

Advanced chemotherapy takes up to Sh150, 000 per session.

Patients with NHIF can get up to 20 radiotherapy sessions.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), cancer is the third leading cause of death in Kenya after infectious and cardiovascular diseases.

The five most common cancers in the country include breast, cervical, oesophageal, prostate and colorectal cancer

Breast cancer is the leading type of cancer in Kenya, with about 6,000 new cases every year.

The global health organisation notes that at least as three out of four women who get breast cancer are diagnosed at late stages, making it hard to treat.

The campaign is aimed at sensitising Kenyans to identify early signs of breast cancer, screening and treatment of breast cancer.

Alongside celebrating breast cancer survivors, Roche is celebrating health care providers including doctors, clinicians, nurses, nutritionist among other cadres under hashtag #BehindEveryPatient.

Frank Loeffler, Country Manager East Africa, Roche has applauded health care providers for providing care to cancer survivors amid Covid-19 pandemic.

“We are happy that health care givers walk the journey with survivors, treating and providing them with psychological services," he said.

Roche is also providing prosthetics to survivors who have undergone mastectomy, to boost their morale.