Trizah Waithira, widowed in 2022 after her husband, Joe Waithaka, died from stomach cancer, is still haunted by events leading to his diagnosis.
The woman, who hails from Murang'a county, told the Star that her husband who had been diagnosed with severe stomach ulcers had been receiving treatment. However, he was not getting better and by the time they received the cancer diagnosis the disease had already spread.
"In May of 2020 my husband was diagnosed with severe stomach ulcers and he immediately commenced treatment, little did we know that all was not well,” Waithira said.
She recalled how one Friday evening, her husband experienced severe stomach pains in the lower abdomen, causing him to faint.
"When we got to the hospital, Joe was wheeled to the emergency room for check-ups and he was stabilised and three days later we received the shock of our lives; my husband was suffering from stomach cancer,” she said.
“When Joe began treatment, he was scheduled to undergo chemotherapy at least once a week at the Kenyatta University Teaching, Referral and Research Hospital.”
Waithira described the journey as challenging, draining their life savings and forcing them to sell their properties to pay for medication.
In addition to that, she and Joe faced stigma due to societal belief that cancer is a curse.
Waithira said that despite facing widespread disdain and resentment, they bravely fought on despite having nothing left.
She painfully recalled how in 2022 her worst nightmare came true as Joe's condition deteriorated despite the treatment.
In July 2022, her husband's condition worsened even as they endured hospital visits and pain, which broke her heart.
On August 3, 2022, her husband died.
She was left without anyone to run to and with no property for her to support her children having sold everything to fund her late husband’s treatment.
Her case is one of the many others that most families face especially those in rural areas who grapple with financial constraints while tending to their sick relatives.
