I don’t want to die, cancer patient's plea to Ruto to resolve doctors’ strike

Diagnosed with Stage 1b vulva cancer in October last year, a few years after she was declared free of cervical cancer, Florence Mwendwa Mwongela,61, is a distraught woman.

She was supposed to start treatment for the disease at Kenyatta National Hospital in January this year but has been glued to her home within the Lions area in Bulapesa ward, Isiolo County due to financial constraints.

She spent Sh2.5 million on treatment for the previous disease at the Texas Cancer Centre.

The ongoing nationwide doctors' strike has compounded her woes as she fears that the disease could advance to complicated stages due to unchecked cell multiplication.

"The pain is getting worse and my health is deteriorating by the day. I have not been sleeping well because I am petrified about what happens next. I do not want to die," she said amid tears during an interview with The Eastleigh Voice at her home.

"I had consulted one of the doctors and I was told that because I did not start treatment as had been advised, I must take some scans to find out the spread of the disease which will guide on the treatment," she noted.

She is now asking President William Ruto to help in resolving the doctors' impasse to ease the pain that patients were undergoing across the country, many of whom have had their clinics and treatment rescheduled.

Florence has been surviving on painkillers in the last three months and occasionally visits AVI Matercare Hospital for cleaning, dressing and draining of pus on her wound, which costs her Sh30,000 monthly.

Vulva cancer mostly affects labia majora-women's external genitals.

A medic at the hospital has in the last month offered to clean and dress her wound at no cost, sparing her the burden of going to the hospital though she has been struggling to buy the needed antibiotics and pharmaceuticals.

The disease, Florence says, has drained her financially making her unable to access nutritious food crucial for improved health and immunity.

"I have been taking one meal a day, making my body so weak. My children have no stable sources of income," she says, adding that the financial woes forced her last-born son to drop out from school last year while in Form Three.

Delayed treatment fears

Like other cancer patients across the country, Florence is afraid that delayed treatment could dim her chances of successful treatment.

Doctors protest in Nairobi during the ongoing strike on March 22, 2024. (X/Davji Bhimji Atellah)

Local community leader Kuresha Bille appealed to local elected leaders and well-wishers to help Florence access treatment and food.

"The help would enable successful elimination of the disease before it advances to a serious stage," she said.

The county government, Kuresha said, should set up a cancer treatment centre in the region to ease the patients' struggle of travelling to Nairobi for treatment.

"Many (cancer) patients are suffering in silence due to stigma and financial challenges. Provision of treatment locally would offer a huge relief to them," she said.

The Council of Governors (CoG) during their meeting on March 27, 2024, regarding the ongoing doctors' strike, at their offices at Delta House in Westlands, Nairobi. (Photo: CoG)

The Kenya Network of Cancer Organisations and Cancer Survivors Association of Kenya (CSAK) raised concern that the strike had resulted in delayed diagnosis of new cases and treatment for cancer patients.

They said early diagnosis was key to successful cancer treatment and that delays could see the disease advance to critical stages, worsening patients' prognosis.

"The fear of disease recurrence coupled with inadequate access to medical care greatly affects survivors and their families leading to stress and mental health challenges," CSAK Chairperson Wanjiru Githuka said.