Kibra Member of Parliament (MP) Ken Okoth who recently open up how he is battling stage four colorectal cancer with metastases to the liver has revealed he is undergoing Chemo which has changed his skin.
“Napambana na hali yangu kabisa. Chemo drugs brutal on the skin and immunity system”.
Last year, Okoth was put through vigorous treatment that involved combined radio- and chemotherapy to avert the impending risk of organ failure.He responded well, he says, but that was just the beginning of his long-term treatment.
Considering his cancer was discovered at stage four, he will have to take medication for life – a tablet each day.“I will be using chemotherapy tablets that I can take every morning.
Because my disease was discovered at a very advanced stage; it cannot be cured. It can only be managed,” he says.Okoth admits that getting treatment for advanced cancer is not easy in the country, a challenge he has had to deal with himself upon recommendation by his doctors in Nairobi.
He was given two options where he could seek advanced care for his liver: the US or Europe. He settled for Europe.“I could not afford the US because it was too expensive.
My wife is from Europe, where the cost is more affordable and I could get a residence permit quickly for the duration of the treatment. Sadly, not everyone is as lucky; we need to make cancer care in Kenya a national priority,” he says.
Statistics by the Kenya Network of Cancer Organisations, show that at least 40,000 people are diagnosed with cancer every year. At the same time, there are 27,000 deaths.Of the types, oesophageal cancer is the leading killer as revealed by National Cancer Institute (NCI) boss Alfred Karagu.
He explains that the major reason is because many of the patients present themselves in hospital too late – at stage four – leaving little to be done to save their lives.