The government has been asked to set up a fully equipped cancer centre in the Western region.
According to a section of the opinion of leaders, artists and stakeholders from the health sector in Bungoma County, currently, cancer patients in the region are forced to travel to Eldoret for the services.
Led by Namalwa Chesoli na Steve Kay, the group says a cancer centre in the region will boost efforts to enhance access to health services for the Western Kenya region.
Speaking in Tongaren sub-county during the marking of World Breast Cancer Day, they said most patients are struggling to access the services elsewhere since there are no equipped health facilities in the entire region.
Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH) in Eldoret and the Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Referral Hospital in Nyanza are the only public health facilities in Western Kenya capable of providing treatment to cancer patients.
“We need an oncology unit fully equipped with the ability to screen women as well as radiotherapy and chemotherapy facilities. It is a challenge for a patient to travel from here to Eldoret to get those services,” said Chesoli.
Cancer screening
Political leaders in the region have also been challenged to take the lead in asking locals to be going for regular screening.
“If our leaders can push for a cancer centre here in the Western region, it can help lower costs that patients incur travelling to Nairobi and Eldoret,” noted Steve Kay, a Bungoma-based award-winning musician.
During the World Breast Cancer Day marking, some of the cancer survivors also shared the challenges they faced during the journey.
They advised members of the public to have regular check-ups and early screenings and also called on the government to declare cancer a national disaster so that more effort can be put in place to address the rising number of Kenyans with cancer.
“I have used a lot of money on cancer treatment. I had several pieces of land but most of them have been used to finance my treatment,” said one of the survivors.
“We need a place where a person who is diagnosed to be having the disease can be taken through counselling together with their families because some people end up dying not because of the disease but stress,” added another.
The celebration ended with a football match tagged ‘Kick out Cancer’ which was used to create awareness among the locals.
