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George Lemayian (pictured) knows only too well how debilitating cancer pain can be.
Lemayian, who walks with a limp, was once a muscular construction worker, but now the only duties he can manage are those of an office clerk.
“But my doctor told me I am not supposed to sit for a long time. I should take breaks and walk around,” he said.
His battle with cancer started in July 2015 after he experienced great pain on his right ankle. He went to a nearby clinic in Kiserian where he was prescribed painkillers.
A week later he was back. The pain was too much. More painkillers were prescribed, with an ointment and massage. The physician suggested that maybe a blood clot was causing the pain.
“But a friend of mine said I should never agree to treatment for blood clots without an X-ray confirming the same,” said Lemaiyan.
His sister suggested that he goes for a proper checkup at a county hospital. The imaging showed there was no clot, but there were two swellings on both sides of his ankle.
“The doctors said it was like a deformity of tissues and nerves and that is why the pain was acute. I was prescribed some drugs and released,” he said.
But seven months later, the pain recurred, this time with swelling on his thigh. He went back to Naivasha and a scan was done. It showed a tumor growing on his thigh next to the sciatic nerve.
Delicate operation
Doctors told him to go to either Kijabe, Kenyatta or Nakuru hospital to have the tumor removed. He settled for Nakuru, but at first two doctors opted out of the operation due to its delicate nature.
“The tumor was right next to the sciatic nerve. It meant if the doctor’s scalpel slipped, I would be wheelchair-bound for life,” Lemayian said.
But one general surgeon agreed to do the operation and the tumor was removed.
After the May 2016 surgery, Lemayian waited for five weeks before the tests came back. He had malignant schwannoma, which could develop into full blown cancer and cost him his leg.
He was referred to KNH and booked to start radiotherapy sessions. “But I was shocked when I was told that I had to wait for four months as there were no open clinic days for sessions. All the dates were fully booked.”
With time running out, Lemayian followed the oncologist he was referred to at KNH to his clinic at Nairobi Hospital where he got a slot for 36 radiotherapy sessions for at least seven minutes every day.
“KNH called me after two months but I told them I was halfway through my sessions. Nairobi Hospital was a bit fair; I just had to add like Sh2,000 for every session.”
The National Hospital Insurance Fund’s capitation for radiotherapy is Sh70,000 for 20 sessions. But that is only if each session is charged at a maximum of Sh3,500.
Today, Lemayian still doubts if he has fully recovered. He is yet to go for another scan to show if the radiotherapy worked. He says he was told he has to wait for three years to find out.
“I have started feeling the same pain again. I think I should go back to hospital and get checked,” he said. “I do not do clinics either. I just attend support groups for now.”
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