- The free medical camps organised by former Kigumo MP Jamleck Kamau normally offered general treatment before the organiser decided to include free cervical cancer screening.
- Early sex and poor lifestyles have been blamed for the rising cases.
Image: Alice Waithera
Doctors have raised the alarm over increasing cases of cervical cancer in Murang'a county.
They have urged women in the county to undergo constant check-ups.
Dr Alex Maina, the lead doctor in a team of medics conducting free medical camps, said the cancer is on the rise in the county.
The free medical camps organised by former Kigumo MP Jamleck Kamau normally offered general treatment before the organiser decided to include free cervical cancer screening.
Maina told the Star that in the three medical camps where screening was done, 11 women tested positive for cervical cancer.
He said the prevalence varied and was determined by the geographical location and the willingness of locals to get screened.
In Gatanga, six women tested positive, three in Kandara and three in Kigumo.
Image: Alice Waithera
He said risk factors that contribute to the development of cervical cancer include early sexual activity which cause cell structure change due to trauma.
“The reproductive system of a child is not well developed so if one engages in sex, there are chances that changes can occur in the cervix leading to metastatic tumour,” he said.
Infection by Human Papilloma Virus can also predispose one to cervical cancer in later years, he said, adding that it's the prime reason why the government is vaccinating young girls.
Engaging in unprotected sex especially with multiple partners exposes the women involved to cervical cancer through the HPV virus.
Environmental factors such as lead poisoning and asbestos can also expose one to the disease.
Maina pointed out that in the free medical camps, medics only conduct Via Vili test which is a visual examination of the cervix after application of acetic acid.
Image: Alice Waithera
Once it turns positive, a patient must be subjected to more advanced tests such as Pap smear that indicates whether there are changes in the cell structure after which a biopsy is done where a piece of the tissue is analysed.
“After all these tests, we do a CT scan to stage the disease and determine the extent of infection,” he said.
"If it is in stage one or two, a total abdominal hysterectomy, a surgical procedure that removes the uterus through an incision in the lower abdomen, can be done."
In advanced cases, he said there is need to involve chemo-radiotherapy and in more advanced cases patients are put on palliative therapy.
Maina called on the government to start disease promotion for illnesses caused by lifestyles to help promote behavioural change.
“There has been a crisis at the family level, resulting in people having multiple partners," he said.
"Establishing disease promotion will help people protect themselves and their partners."
“This is not only for cervical cancer but all sexually transmitted diseases and lifestyle illnesses caused by things such as smoking and alcohol consumption. One of the main ways to address them is through behaviour change,” he said.
Mary Wairimu, a middle-aged woman, said she was happy to undergo the test and found she was negative.
Wairimu said she did not know about cervical cancer screening and that she had come to seek treatment for her arthritic leg before doctors urged her to undergo the screening.
“They explained it to me and I think, this is something that should be done regularly by younger women,” she said.
Image: Alice Waithera
Kamau, emphasised the need for Kenyans to seek treatment once they feel unwell to prevent diseases from progressing to stages that are expensive and require intensive care.
Kamau is vying for the Murang'a governor seat.
He said cancer prevalence in the country is alarming, saying that some are caused by untreated illnesses.
He said in cases of stomach cancer, many patients report experiencing extended stomach disorders that progress to cancer.
“Just last week, I personally lost two friends to stomach cancer,” he said.
The former MP said he regretted that his medical camps cannot offer stomach cancer screening that require endoscopy and colonoscopy.
However, he said many fail to seek treatment for stomach disorders because it's expensive.
He pledged to organise two medical facilities equipped with stomach cancer screening equipment at a subsidised rate should he be elected governor.
He encouraged women to undergo cancer screening to start early treatment if found positive.
“There is no need to worry, cancer is treatable detected early,” he said.
Recently, Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe said the country is losing 27,000 people to cancer each year.
Last year, 6,800 breast cancer cases, 5,200 cervical cancer cases and 3,000 prostate cancer were recorded.
The CS raised concerns that the high cancer and non-communicable diseases burden could cripple the economy in the future if it's not managed.
Cancer is the third leading cause of death in the country after infectious and cardiovascular diseases.