• A colostomy bag is a plastic bag that collects faecal matter from the digestive tract through an opening in the abdominal wall called a stoma.
• One bag costs Sh1,000. Some patients need up to three bags a day making it unaffordable.
Image: GETTY IMAGES
Cancer patients and caregivers now want the government to exempt cancer rehabilitative products from taxation to ensure ease of access.
Patients such as those suffering from colon cancer need colostomy bags on daily basis for their comfort but one bag costs Sh1,000. Some patients need up to three bags in a day making it unaffordable.
As a result, some patients avoid eating for fear of failure to control the stool. Such rehabilitative commodities are not catered for by NHIF either.
A colostomy bag is a plastic bag that collects faecal matter from the digestive tract through an opening in the abdominal wall called a stoma.
“We should advocate for these commodities to be excluded in terms of taxation because we get these bags from Canada as a donation but we go through hell clearing them from Mombasa,” Keziah Kiseu said.
During a colostomy, a surgeon will bring out a portion of a person’s large intestine through the stoma. The colostomy bag can then collect stool as it passes through the gut.
Kiseu is a caregiver who has been taking care of her brother who is a colon cancer survivor.
“After cancer there is a deformity. We want people to live normal lives and to continue doing what they were doing,” Lucy Njeri, a breast cancer survivor says.
In August this year, the National Cancer Taskforce made a similar call to the government.
The taskforce in their report noted that such products that are essential in cancer treatment are not covered under NHIF, hindering access to quality healthcare and treatment outcomes.
This is after cancer patients and caregivers who appeared before the taskforce decried high cost of cancer rehabilitative products such as colostomy and urostomy supplies.
They include stoma bags, base plates, pouches, ostomy cream, powder, barrier ring, adhesive strips, prosthesis and crutches.
“There are challenges in access and affordability of treatment assistive devices such as chemoports for chemotherapy use and colostomy bags among other rehabilitative items,” the report says.
Data from the National Cancer institute shows that 2,724 cases of colorectum cancer were reported in 2020, while 1,862 deaths were recorded for the same.
Former Treasury CS Ukur Yatani in his budget proposal in April proposed that urine bags, breast implants and ileostomy bags (small intestine) for medical use be VAT exempted.
He also proposed to exempt from VAT adult diapers and colostomy bags, to reduce the cost and improve access.
It is not however, unclear when these proposals will take effect as patients still continue to suffer.