Mama Lucy Medical Superintendent Musa Mohamed said the cases can be stopped from escalating to dangerous levels if relevant treatment is administered in time/FILE
NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 11 – At least 22 people have been diagnosed with cancer following free screening at Mama Lucy and Mbagathi Hospitals in Nairobi.
Doctors have referred two suspected cases for further analysis following an exercise in which over 300 people have been screened so far since Monday.
Seven women were found to be with breast cancer while one man was diagnosed with prostate cancer at Mama Lucy Hospital another twelve women were found to have cervical cancer at Mbagathi. Health officials say the cases are however at manageable stages.
Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko commended the residents saying the fight against cancer starts with the individual. “The numbers that we have seen turn up for screening is encouraging. It shows we are all ready to tackle the monster,” said Sonko.
He said early diagnosis of the killer disease is the first weapon against it.
Mama Lucy Medical Superintendent Musa Mohamed said the cases can be stopped from escalating to dangerous levels if relevant treatment is administered in time.
“We found eight cases but we want to tell the victims that they can control their situation because it is not at advanced stage,” he said. The screening exercise is ongoing at the two facilities. Mohammed said the county has adequate machines for screening.
Sonko said the screening will be a continuous process at the county facilities. He called on city residents to avail themselves for the free exercise which is being conducted in collaboration with the Kenyatta National Hospital.
Meanwhile, the county is set to embark on a serious cancer sensitization program that seeks to highlight preventive measures. The program, which will focus more on lifestyle and diet, will be launched by the Governor.
Nairobi County Health Executive Mohamed Dagane said with the hard-hitting reality that cancer treatment is not easily achievable, the focus has to be on preventive rather than curative measures.
Dagane said the county will work with relevant stakeholders to create maximum awareness on preventive measures.
“We have been told it’s more lifestyle and the food we eat, the environment we stay in and other minor factors and that’s why we have to go back to the drawing board and address these issues head on,” Dagane said.
The County government is also seeking to partner with neighboring counties and the national government in setting up cancer research and education centres.
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