Hope for breast cancer survivors as KU hospital starts reconstructive surgery

The move will help women who lost their breasts to cancer regain their confidence.

The hospital has urged insurers and the government to consider financing the costly breast reconstructive surgery programme as it is not cosmetic, but a key factor in recovery.

Board chairperson Prof Olive Mugenda said at least 10 women will undergo the procedure at the facility starting this week.

She spoke during an international symposium for doctors and medical experts at the hospital.

Mugenda said although the procedure is costly, it is necessary to help survivors overcome the stigma of living without the organ, which affects the quality of their lives.

She said the hospital has recorded 82,000 cancer patients since 2020, out of which 2,500 were breast cancer patients who present their condition at stage 3 and 4, hence necessitating mastectomy.

"A lot of the women usually don't know what to do after the surgery, they do not have the knowledge or the resources. As one of the best cancer treatment and management hospitals in the country, we are thinking about how to help them get their lives back by doing breast reconstruction," Mugenda said.

She said the hospital is scanning about 50 patients per day through PET scan, but raised the alarm that most of patients are presenting themselves at stage 3 or 4 of cancer.

“I think we need to have a system whereby even the insurance companies, institutions like ours and the government make it mandatory for people to have annual check-ups. It will enhance early detection and increase chances of survival and will be cheaper to treat the disease,” Mugenda said.

The chairperson said the institution has brought medical experts from Canada, the US, Argentina, Italy and Ghana to team up with local doctors in conducting the operations.

The foreign experts are led by Dr Andria Pusic of the US and Dr Federico Flaherty from Argentina. The two said the breast reconstruction initiative at KUTRRH is inspiring and impressive and will go a long way in helping cancer survivors.

Dr Josiah Moki, a consultant breast oncoplastic surgeon at KUTRRH said the hospital has experienced younger breast cancer patients who present their condition at late stages but disappear after diagnosis for fear of mastectomy.

“We have concerns that most patients come in the later stages, which is usually a challenge. We also have younger patients who present late but they usually disappear for fear of mastectomy,” he said.

Mugenda said they are planning to construct a breast cancer care centre.

“The President approved the construction of breast cancer care centre and we are pursuing to make sure that funding is availed for this mega project. We’ve heard that there are such facilities in the US and UK but there’s none in Africa. This will be a regional hub that will revolutionalise breast cancer treatment,” she said.

Mugenda said plans to establish Kenyatta University Hospital Foundation are underway to raise money to facilitate treatment of cancer patients from poor backgrounds.

The chairperson also said plans to put up a women’s hospital, the second in the country after Nairobi Women’s Hospital, are at an advanced stage.

“There are so many issues related to women, from abuse to specific diseases for women. We want to address them by having a women’s hospital," Mugenda said.

"The designs are ready and we are waiting for funds so the works can start.”

Mugenda said KUTRRH will soon become a medical hub in the continent, noting that another mega project, a 300-bed children’s hospital is being put up.