More than 30 new cancer cases are reported monthly in Taita Taveta, according to the county Health Services department.
Muriel Kinyanga, who is the in-charge of the cancer hospice at the county's Moi Referral Hospital in Voi, said the number of people turning up for screening is on the increase.
Eleven per cent of those screened has various forms of cancer. The department reported a high level of cervical cancer cases.
Kinyanga linked the increased cases to the lack of awareness on how to detect early and manage the disease."People need to realise the importance of early detection of cancer. Let them come for regular check-ups."
The officer said the county lacked accurate data on people with cancer as most of the patients sought treatment outside the devolved unit.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), at least 90 people die daily of cancer.
Taita Taveta County first lady Stela Samboja and her Makueni and Kisumu counterparts Nazi Kivutha and Dorothy Nyong’o urged residents to be checked regularly.
They led a sensitisation programme at the referral hospital.
“We will partner with the county government and other stakeholders to ensure cancer screening and awareness is done at the villages to prevent and diagnose the disease at its early stages. Cancer can be prevented and is curable if detected early," Samboja said.
Kibwana said cancer is not a death sentence. "We need to come together and fiercely fight this disease.”
She urged residents to enrol with NHIF so that their medical expenses are catered for.