•National Cancer Institute says there are about 40,000 new cases of cancer annually
•Financial interest and greed hindering war on scourge, expert says
Cancer patients could be the latest cash cow as some health facilities take advantage of their ignorance, a medic has warned.
Peter Bird, the head of surgery AIC Kijabe Hospital, said many patients report undergoing unnecessary, costly procedures before they get proper care.
Bird said financial interest and greed by some specialists and general practitioners is one of the hindrances in the war on cancer in Kenya.
"Sometimes facilities are always seeking to make money from patients rather than looking after patients," he said at the second annual breast cancer symposium organised by the Aga Khan University Hospital in Nairobi on Thursday.
Bird also noted the costs of chemotherapy and radiotherapy vary wildly between public and different private hospitals.
He said the cost of some drugs puts them out of the reach of many cancer patients.
"For instance, if you were to place about 1,500 breast cancer patients on Trastuzumab (brand name Herceptin) the cost would be equal to seven per cent of the Ministry of Health budget," he said.
According to the head of the National Cancer Institute Alfred Karagu, there are about 40,000 new cases of cancer annually in Kenya.
About 28,000 patients succumb to the disease each year.
Currently, Kenyatta National Hospital has the only two radiotherapy machines while six others are available in private facilities at costs many patients cannot afford.
Basic treatment for breast cancer costs between Sh175,200 and Sh1.98 million without surgery in private facilities, according to the National Cancer Control Programme.
The cost shoots up to between Sh758,000 and Sh2.48 million with surgery.
Cervical cancer without surgery costs between Sh172,000 and Sh759,000 and Sh672,000 to Sh1.25 million if the patient has an operation.
Recently, Dr Sitna Mwanzi, an oncologist and chair of the Kenya Society of Haematology and Oncology blamed the high costs on medicines.
"If you look at the cost breakdown, what the specialists earn is the least, compared to drug prices that are out of our control," she said.
On Thursday, the vice-chairman of the NCD Alliance of Kenya David Makumi praised the government for rolling out policies to guide cancer management.
"Currently, all the policy guidelines are there and it's good because they prescribe which medicines should be used to treat various cancers. This will help the National Hospital Insurance Fund do proper treatment costs and cover the patients," he said.
"Also the Kenya Medical Supplies Agency can now do bulk procurement of these drugs and bring costs down."