Cyberknife to treat cancer to arrive in the country in few weeks

Cyberknife, a machine used in the treatment of cancer, is expected to arrive in the country in the next few weeks.

This is according to a team of experts who made a pre-shipment inspection tour to the US to begin the process of acquiring the machine.

Cyberknife is used in the treatment of brain, head, neck, lung, breast, spinal, liver, pancreas and prostate cancers.

Kenyatta University Teaching, Referral and Research Hospital board chairperson Prof Olive Mugenda, who led the team, said the machine is expected to arrive in the country in the next few weeks.

The hospital is currently hosting the Integrated Molecular Imaging Centre.

“The advanced cancer treatment machine will be the second in Africa after Egypt. It will be delivered in a few weeks,” Mugenda said on Sunday.

The government in April allocated Sh300 million for the procurement of cyberknife radiotherapy equipment.

Health experts say the machine will go a long way in treating complicated and advanced cases of cancer.

The technology conducts non-invasive treatment for cancerous and non-cancerous tumours.

Its unique robotic design keeps the radiation on target even while the tumour moves. It can be used as an alternative to surgery or for patients who have inoperable or surgically complex tumours.

The machine verifies the exact tumour position then adjusts the robot to precisely target the tumour.

“It is a machine that can turn around 360 degrees, so it is able to get to the corners that other machines cannot get so it is very important,” Mugenda said.

The Ministry of Health has said a number of cancer-related deaths in the country are as a result of infrastructural and resource limitations.

Many perish because their cancers are diagnosed too late.

Health data show cancer is the third leading cause of death in Kenya after infectious and cardiovascular diseases.