Nyeri residents will enjoy free esophageal cancer screening for the next 30 days after the County Department of Health partnered with the Kenyatta University Teaching Referral and Research Hospital (KUTRRH) to deliver a mobile endoscopy tower truck.
The truck, which was flagged off on Monday by the county governor Dr Mutahi Kahiga and KUTRRH acting chief executive officer Dr Zeinab Gura, came fitted with an endoscopy machine and cancer specialists who will be conducting the diagnostic procedure on the residents.
According to Dr Gura, the one-month free screening project is part of an ongoing esophageal cancer study in the county which is being undertaken jointly by KUTRRH, the University of Manchester, the Christie NHS Foundation Trust, National Cancer Institute and Kenya Medical Research Institute.
She noted that successful implementation of the study will provide the basis for new approaches in the management of the disease. Dr Gura also said that the researchers will also use the time to raise awareness on the importance of early detection and diagnosis in realizing better treatment outcomes for cancer patients.
“We are looking at raising awareness among the members of the community about the disease and the importance of early interception and treatment. We are also building the capacity of health workers, both specialists at the facility and frontline workers at the health centres, dispensaries and Community Health Promoters to make sure that the awareness at the community level is effective,” she stated.
A report released by the Ministry of Health in 2022 revealed that Nyeri, Murang’a, Kirinyaga and Embu counties have the heaviest cancer burden in the country. These findings were backed by internal research conducted by the County Health Department in the same year which showed that cancer is the leading cause of illness and death in Nyeri.
The county research showed that breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in the county among women aged between 35 and 54 years. The study identified cancer of the oesophagus and prostate as the other leading forms of cancer in the county, with oesophageal cancer being identified as the leading cause of cancer deaths, especially among men.
The findings also showed that at least 55 new cancer cases were recorded every month at the County Referral Hospital while the chemotherapy centre handled a total of 600 cases in a month.
The mobile endoscopy tower truck will traverse Othaya, Mukurwe-ini, Karatina, Naru Moru and Mweiga and will be stationed at the Level III and Level IV facilities offering free screening to the residents thus saving them the hustle of having to travel to the County Referral Hospital – the only facility with an endoscopy machine – for cancer screening.
Speaking during the ceremony, Dr Kahiga lauded the partnership noting that the mobile clinic will accelerate the devolved unit’s efforts in early diagnosis for its residents. He also noted that the study will facilitate the County Department of Health to update its data on cancer prevalence and inform decision-making in providing cancer treatment options.
He also decried the poor behavior by men in seeking health services as the weak link in tackling the disease. He however urged the residents to take advantage of the free screening in order to reduce the burden of seeking treatment when the cancer progresses to an advanced stage.
“This is a game changer for us because cancer cases in this county are often diagnosed at advanced stages due to the lack of routine screening and we end up losing many of these patients. But with the mobile clinic being around for the next month, we will ensure that as many residents as possible, especially men within the sub-counties, turn up and get screened,” assured Dr Kahiga.
By Wangari Mwangi
