Hope for cancer patients as MP reveals plans to build hospital in Juja.

Thika Town MP Patrick Wainaina (left) happily welcome back his colleague from Juja Francis Munyua Waititu (Wakapee) after jetting back from India where he underwent a successful brain cancer treatment. 

Juja MP Francis Munyua Waititu’s (Wakapee) has announced plans to build a cancer hospital in a move which promises to ease the suffering experienced by cancer patients in the country

The facility, expected to be put up on a 50-Acre piece of land near Mang’u High School will make Juja Sub-County home of the first cancer hospital in the country.

While speaking to residents upon return from India after a successful brain cancer operation, Wakapee said that plans were in top gear to actualise a partnership between the Government of Kenya, the County Government of Kiambu, doctors from India and the local private businessman who has donated the land whose value is over KES. 9 billion to ensure that this dream becomes a reality.

“Am happy to announce that someone has donated a piece of land along the Thika Superhighway that will be used to put up the facility. The president has promised to accord us with all the necessary support. The Indian Prime Minister has also promised to provide us with doctors too,” explained Wakapee.

The legislator promised to table a motion in the National Assembly to compel both the national and county governments to put up a cancer facility in each of the 47 counties. He challenged people to open up about the disease as that would be the first step in the fight against it.

“So many people are suffering in silence from cancer. Nobody wants to talk about because of the stigma behind it. In India, I met 9,000 cancer patients from Kenya alone. Among them were 9 of my fellow MPs and 4 Senators. The cancer scourge is enormous and we can no longer afford to bury our heads in the sand. We must get out and talk about it,” he said.

He added that the greatest challenged that was facing the country was the fact that most people knew of their cancer status during its final phase, a time when it was quite difficult to treat it. He advised people to go for voluntary cancer screening as early detection could save their lives and money.

“Cancer is curable. My case was discovered in its initial phase and am happy that it is now completely healed. Let’s not wait until it is too late that is when we are rushing to seek treatment. Late treatment of the disease is very expensive and the rate of success at that time is not guaranteed,” he said.

He warned Kenyatta National Hospital administration that he will fight tooth and nail until they streamlined their operations especially in regards to the diagnosing and treatment of cancer patients.

The Juja MP has been out of the county for about seven weeks where he was undergoing some brain cancer treatment.

Thika Town MP Eng. Patrick Wainaina called on the government to declare cancer as a national disaster so as to attract all kinds of assistance for the victims of the disease. Noting that cancer was one of the leading causes of death worldwide, Wainaina said that there was need to decentralise treatment away from Nairobi, a matter that needed all manner of assistance.

“So many poor Kenyans endure needless sufferings in the absence of such facilities and fall prey to this life-threatening disease, leaving behind an eclipsed household. That is why we are saying that all these facilities for screening, diagnosis and awareness should be availed in centres within people’s reach,” said the Thika MP.

The MP stressed the need to sensitise people on the need acquire the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) cover as this was one way of realising the much coveted universal health care.

“Even if it means setting aside some money in the national, county or CDF budget to insure our people with the NHIF, so be it. There is no way we will develop this country with an unhealthy population,” argued Wainaina.

An estimated 40,000 new cancer cases and 28,000 deaths occur each year in Kenya, making the disease the third leading cause of mortality and accounting for 7% of all annual deaths.