Rising cases of cancer trigger multi-billion shilling investments

When Jane Muturi, an ampullary cancer survivor, started itching on a Thursday, little did she know that it would cost her about Sh2.6 million in treatment a year.

This is the amount she has spent on three surgeries to cut off the cancerous part of her ampulla near the bile duct and undergo six sessions of radiotherapy.

The cost excludes regular check-ups that cost Sh56,000, drugs that range from Sh6,000 to Sh10,000, oncology consultation fees, which average Sh2,000 per visit, ongoing treatment and right diet.

Ms Muturi is among the rising number of Kenyans diagnosed with more than 100 types of cancers and are paying a heavy price as the disease shifts to developing countries where healthcare funding has been on the decline.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) anticipates that by 2030, developing countries will bear 70 per cent of the global cancer burden, straining resources and infrastructure.

At Kenya’s largest referral hospital, Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) by 6 a.m on a Tuesday, already tens of patients are lining up for check-up or treatment.

It is the day the newly diagnosed are seen. By 7 a.m, there is no sitting space and patients squeeze themselves within the rows of benches to sit or lie on the floor. The smell of unchanged bandages and the crowded stuffy corridor seem not to bother anyone.

At the far corner, an elderly woman opens her bag, removes cups and a flask, pours porridge and hands over the cup to a sickly old man next to her. They had to be at KNH early.

“We attend to about 40 to 50 new cases of cancer per week,” says Dr Anselmy Opiyo, the head of cancer unit, KNH and one of the few oncologists in Kenya.

New cancer patients are booked in for radiotherapy until May, four months down the line.

Follow-up cancer patients are seen on Wednesdays and Thursdays and Dr Opiyo says KNH reviews 120 such patients per week.

The radiotherapy unit, which has two machines, takes in 150 patients per day and the sessions run up to midnight.

There are no official records on cancer in Kenya, but estimates show there are about 20,000 to 22,000 new cases every year.

The Economist Intelligence Unit, pegging its numbers on Globocan figures, notes that in 2009 new cancer cases in Kenya stood at 34,197 with those in 2020 expected to rise to 48,144 per year.

“All types of cancer are increasing in prevalence, much more in developing countries,” said Dr David Ndirangu, head of nuclear medicine unit in KNH. The rising number of cancer patients has forced hospitals to rethink strategy.