The Kakamega county government has bought a Sh8 million histology machine for diagnosing cancer.
The machine has been installed at the 500-bed Kakamega County General Hospital. The hospital already has a palliative care centre for those suffering from cancer.
The machine is the first in the region and will drastically cut the costs of travel by residents to the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret, Aga Khan Hospital in Kisumu or Kenyatta National Hospital in Nairobi for cancer testing.
Health executive Collins Matemba said the installation of equipment is a major milestone, not only for Kakamega but also for Vihiga, Busia and Bungoma counties.
"We have placed an order for reagents, and then we will be ready to test for cancer, something that will be historical. It is a sigh of relief to those who are forced to travel long distances in search of cancer tests and treatment," he said.
County medical laboratory technologist Violet Kisato said the histology machine can test 50-100 samples a day.
"Immediately we get a sample or tissue, we trim them using the grossing station. Grossing station has a camera and laptop to help pathologists detect the most affected parts of the sample," she said.
A community lobby, the Western Community Health Association (WECOHAS), is also in the process of establishing another cancer testing and treatment centre in Lurami subcounty.
Matemba said that the hospital also has a cobas integra 400 plus machine that tests 100 samples of different diseases at once.
"Cobas machine cost Sh7.9 million. The machine is able to test over 100 samples within 15 minutes," he said.
The machine tests the functioning of the liver, kidney, liquid and mineral levels in the human body.
It can also test samples for narcotic drugs and do therapeutic drug monitoring tests for patients on medication.
"Our laboratory at the hospital is ISO 15189:2012 certified, which means we offer quality standards and the results we give are internationally recognised," he said.
