Head and neck cancers are the most common in Garissa, the Ministry of Health has said.
These are a group of cancers of the mouth, sinuses, nose or throat and may begin as a lump in the neck or a sore in the mouth or the throat that does not heal, difficulty in swallowing, and a change or hoarseness in the voice.
Head and neck cancers can also begin in the salivary glands, sinuses, muscles or nerves in the head and neck.
This comes even as the ministry officially opened the Garissa Regional Cancer Centre to help combat the cancer disease whose burden continues to rise.
“I am concerned that they presenting very late to our facilities. I know that we can change the experience,” Health CS Susan Wafula said.
According to the report released by the National Cancer Institute on Thursday, Garissa recorded 27 throat cancer cases while Wajir had eight.
Garissa also recorded four cases of colon cancer five cases of breast cancer and three cases of cervical cancer.
Other Northern counties that recorded cancer cases include Isiolo with three breast cancer cases while Mandera and Marsabit with two breast cancer cases each and two cervical cancer cases each respectively.
“The heavy impact of cancer on individuals, households and entire communities through the loss of productivity, catastrophic cost of care and premature deaths is well known to most, if not all of us,” the CS noted.
The CS has raised concerns that there still exist barriers and inequalities such as misinformation, stigma, inadequate infrastructure, untrained personnel and lack of equipment.
“These have led to the unfortunate situation we find ourselves in whereby most cancer patients even where they are within the healthcare system are diagnosed at late stages, resulting in poor treatment outcomes and low survival rates,” she said.
Cancers of the brain, the eye, the oesophagus, the thyroid gland, and the skin of the head and neck are not usually classified as head and neck cancers.
