A man's journey to fighting cervical cancer, one step at a time

For many women, especially in rural areas, being diagnosed with cancer is a nightmare. Many of them are unable to access treatment because they can't afford it.

But a little sponsorship can go a long way and give them a new lease of life, just as it has to 38 women suffering from cervical cancer in Kuria West, Migori County. They will now be able to access free medical care after sponsors issued them with National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) cards.

The cards were given out as part of the Step By Step Cervical Cancer Campaign, which is sponsored by community-based organisation Smile Woman in partnership with the Nation Media Group, which has in the past offered coverage for the initiative's events.

In a ceremony held at Masaba Health Centre on Monday, the organisers of the campaign encouraged women in the region to go for screening on cervical and seek medical help.

“We are glad to be issuing out these cards to our women to assist them in managing cervical cancer. A total of 38 women will be covered for three years, starting February 2019. They will be able to get free medical services and drugs for this period,” said Mr Thomas Chacha, the executive director of Smile Woman.

“The whole initiative will cost over Sh76.4 million. This money was raised from our cervical cancer awareness walk held in May 2016. We walked from Migori to Mombasa. The money was initially to help us in the screening programme but we decided to channel the money to offering free medical help. We are happy that we have been able to help these women; to lift a heavy load for them.”

Mr Chacha led the walk in 2016.

With the NHIF card, the women will be able to access chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatments, that are often out of reach for many people in the area due to their cost.

INITIATIVE

The initiative, which is targeting more than 7,000 women in the entire county, will from next month be rolled out in Nyatike Subcounty. "Ultimately we want to reach as many as 7,000 women in this county and move on to other parts of the country," Dr Nelly Bosire, a specialist obstetrician and gynaecologist, said.

Dr Bosire, who was the NMG representative at the event, said the campaign is geared towards creating awareness about cervical cancer at the grassroots and encouraging women to go for screening and seek medication to manage their condition.

“Our mission as Step By Step cervical cancer campaign was to look for money to carry out a countrywide screening. Since we were not able to achieve this, we decided to use the money we raised to help women who are already struggling with cervical cancer,” said Dr Bosire, who also writes for NMG's Healthy Nation magazine.

She said Kenya should invest in vaccines to prevent cervical cancer. She urged the Ministry of Health to begin a countrywide vaccination programme for all young girls.

“For countries that have been successful in minimising cervical cancer, it has been a national effort and sometimes literally you have to force women to abide by the programmes," Dr Bosire said. "We are going to have a four-part prevention programme. The first part is vaccination and we still continue to plead with the Ministry of Health that we need our girls between the age of 8 to 11 years vaccinated. The second step is screening, which should be made mandatory."

Women who received the NHIF cards expressed gratitude for now being able to access the much-needed treatment.

“I am happy that I will be assisted to get medical help with this card. I have been relying on herbal medicines to manage my condition, with little results,” said Ms Susan Magembe from Kombe Village.

Ms Ruth Aoko, 39, said the card is a relief. “I had given up because I would visit hospitals for help but they would ask for a lot money which I don’t have. Now, I am glad that help has come our way,” said Ms Aoko.

During the Masaba event, Mr Chacha thanked Nation Media Group for supporting the initiative.