CANCER, KENYA’S WORST NIGHTMARE

In the recent past we’ve seen increased uproar about Cancer, especially after several media personalities have unfortunately been diagnosed with this merciless monster. Cancer is increasing at an extremely high rate and it’s time we all played our part to stop this very dangerous trend. So, what is cancer?

In my own terms, cancer is the worst disease ever experienced on earth, which affects people of all ages from newborn children, to older persons and needs to be eradicated from the face of the earth as early as yesterday. In medical terms though, Cancer, also called malignancy, is an abnormal growth of cells.  In all types of cancer, some of the body’s cells begin to divide without stopping and spread into surrounding tissues.

According to the National Cancer Institute, Cancer can start almost anywhere in the human body, and is made up of trillions of cells. Normally, human cells grow and divide to form new cells as the body needs them. When cells grow old or become damaged, they die, and new cells are formed to replace them.

When cancer develops, the normal cell division process breaks down. Old or damaged cells survive when they should die, and new cells form when they are not needed. These extra cells can divide without stopping and may form growths called tumors. Many cancers form solid tumors, which are masses of tissue. Cancers of the blood however, such as leukemia, generally do not form solid tumors.  

Cancerous tumors are malignant, which means they can spread into, or invade, nearby tissues. In addition, as these tumors grow, some cancer cells can break off and travel in the body through the blood or the lymph system and form new tumors far from the original tumor.

Unlike malignant tumors, benign tumors do not spread into, or invade, nearby tissues. Benign tumors can be very large. When removed, they usually don’t grow back, whereas malignant tumors sometimes do. Unlike most benign tumors elsewhere in the body, benign brain tumors can be life threatening. (Source: National Cancer Institute)

In the early 90s when Kenya and the rest of Africa started a major fight against disease, the worst nightmares were Malaria and HIV/AIDS. Today you and I know that managing HIV/AIDS seems like a walk in the park compared to Cancer to medics, the patient, socially and economically.  People literally go into panic and utter shock when a person discloses that they have been diagnosed with cancer in Kenya. 

There are very few affordable cancer treatment facilities, and the more affordable option, India, is not as affordable because you need at least 5 Million for treatment and this is dependent on the type on treatment. The only ‘affordable’ Radiotherapy machine to more than three quarters of cancer patients in Kenya is at Kenyatta National Hospital, and is fully booked until 2017. The biggest question is; what will happen to thousands of Kenyans who can’t afford to fundraise and raise the millions required for treatment in or outside the country? Are they left to the fate?

The bottom line is, cancer is here and we need to deal with it now, before it wipes out an entire generation. More than half of the foods stocked in Supermarkets today have carcinogens, which basically mean cancer-causing ingredients. Worse still, farmers are spraying greens with harmful pesticides and the meat in the market does not go through rigorous checks for chemicals or hormones. This basically means that the kawaida mwananchi who can’t afford to shop at the organic farmers market in Karen or Runda is exposed to cancer every day. Wanjiku’s children are consuming fake ‘fruit’ juices in the market and potato chips and mandazi made from transformer oil, hence getting exposed to cancer literally every single day.

Who cares about Wanjiku’s fate? Why can’t I hear any uproar from the so called civil and human rights groups  compelling the government to act and kick out garbage from Supermarkets and hawkers who have no idea they’re selling death to Kenyans?  Why are greedy manufacturers still being allowed to use ingredients that have been banned by the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) and other international bodies? Why do I find garbage daily being sold by hawkers to unsuspecting and uninformed Kenyans every day on the streets all over Kenya?

I’ll discuss carcinogens on the next couple of articles. Until then, reading ingredients before you buy any product really help, but only if you understand the ingredients. But hey, that’s why I’m here. In case you don’t understand any ingredient, contact me on my facebook page www.facebook.com/StellarAfya or my personal timeline, @Stella Kimani.