Does HPV vaccine affect fertility? Can herbs cure cancer? The myths and misinformation killing patients
Pracksidis Wandera during the interview at Nation Centre on July 3, 2026. After five chemotherapy sessions and 22 radiotherapy treatments, her cervical cancer initially went into remission. But the disease later metastasised to her lungs.
What you need to know:
- Some patients have been taking herbal remedies instead of starting treatment.
- Others stop treatment prematurely when the cancer symptoms improve, and if they return months later, the cancer may already be advanced or may have been upstaged.
The blood came without warning. Pracksidis Wandera remembers her gynaecologist's gloved fingers probing her cervix, a sudden gush of warmth, the concerned look on the doctor's face and the brief, total silence that followed as he tried to contain the unexpected heavy bleeding. She recalls cleaning herself and dressing up, her doctor briefly stepping out of the room, then returning to tell her she had a massive growth on her cervix, and that he hoped it was not cancerous.
That single word unravelled everything she thought she knew.
"Who am I leaving my children with?" was the first question I asked myself when I stepped out of her office. It was 2021, and as a single parent, that became my greatest worry," she says.
"Growing up, all the times I had started hearing about cancer, I knew it was a death sentence. Society made it clear that it could not be cured, and where I came from, anyone with cancer was thought to have been bewitched," Wandera adds.
By the time doctors confirmed it, she was at Stage 3C cervical cancer. The disease had been growing inside her for close to two years, during which she had undergone two Pap smears: both staining the swab with blood and both times being told she was fine. She had made countless hospital visits with bacterial infection diagnoses, receiving loads of antibiotics that only temporarily suppressed her vaginal discharge before it flared up again.
The deadly lies
Wandera's story is not unique, and that is precisely the problem. Across the country, misinformation and disinformation about cancer are quietly killing people who might otherwise have survived. She has watched it happen up close.
A friend introduced to her by a mutual acquaintance, diagnosed with cervical cancer, refused chemotherapy and radiotherapy outright. "When I met her, she had decided that she would not go to hospital. So when I asked her the reason, she told me she didn't want chemo or radiotherapy. Those things, she said, make somebody weak, so she opted to do herbal treatment. Before she passed on, she had been admitted to a certain clinic in Rongai that provides herbal treatments.
As much as I tried to talk to her, introduce her to my doctor to guide her, and talk to her, she was very adamant that she could not go for the treatment. She was so convinced that with these herbal things, she was going to be fine," Wandera says.
The woman died. So did another friend; another cancer patient who turned to boiled herbal roots after losing both her job and her medical cover once her employer learnt of her diagnosis.
Faith, too, has become an unlikely battleground. Wandera speaks of churches where the sick are told to abandon hospitals altogether. "I have even heard stories of people from churches telling patients not to go to hospital. Patients are told they will be prayed for and they will get better. And somebody holds on to that. They say, 'I cannot go to the hospital. I know that God is going to heal me. My pastor is praying for me.' I lost a very close friend and a cousin to this. My cousin was treated with herbal medication at home for cancer. I intervened, but by the time they decided to take her, it was too late," she recalls.
The consultant's view
Dr Andrew Odhiambo, consultant medical oncologist at The Nairobi Hospital and lecturer at the University of Nairobi, explains that misinformation is not a small issue. He sees it a lot in his practice, so much so that "it has become part of routine counselling.
"Many patients don't reject conventional treatment because they are careless. They do so because they are afraid, are seeking hope, and are overwhelmed and financially strained. Most of the time, they've been influenced by people who promise easier natural, herbal, or holistic treatments. I see patients who delay or default treatment for alternative therapies a lot. Common examples are people who refuse surgery because they think that the surgery will make the cancer spread, or those who fear chemo because of past experiences or relatives who've had a bad experience, or misinformation or advice from the community or the church that chemotherapy is extremely toxic and intolerable, which is actually not true," says Dr Odhiambo.
He notes that some patients have been taking herbal remedies instead of starting treatment. Others stop treatment prematurely when the cancer symptoms improve, and if they return months later, the cancer may already be advanced or may have been upstaged. “The impact of this is big. Cancer may progress from being curable to being incurable. Patients may require more aggressive treatment later. The cost also goes higher, and the patient's performance status may worsen," he explains.
"Seventy-five per cent of all my patients at any one time may have used these alternative therapies either concurrently or even instead of conventional treatment. The most painful part is when a patient comes back and the window for a cure is gone, narrowed, or even closed," he adds.
Dr Odhiambo notes that what is missing in medical communication is that sometimes medics give facts, but patients need understanding. He observes that the healthcare system often underestimates how powerful family, religion, and social media are, and the urgent need for public awareness campaigns.
Benda Kithaka, executive director of Kilele Health, an organisation that engages cervical cancer survivors and caregivers to improve quality of life in survivorship, explains that misinformation at the community level revolves around several key myths: that HPV vaccination affects fertility, that women only need screening if they have signs and symptoms, the misconception that cancer is a death sentence, and the erroneous belief that alternative medicine alone can effectively treat any cancer.
"The impact is significant because misinformation changes behavior. Girls miss vaccination opportunities, women delay screening until they have symptoms, and many patients arrive for treatment much later than they should. Cervical cancer is one of the few cancers we can actually prevent, so when misinformation delays action, those delays can become life-threatening."
She notes that it is difficult to estimate exact numbers on deaths caused by misinformation, partly because Kenyan cancer registries do not capture such data, but also because no death certificate records misinformation as the cause of death. "But we know misinformation contributes to the approximately 3,600 deaths annually from cervical cancer," she adds.
Effective myth-busting, she says, happens through trusted messengers such as survivors, community health promoters, faith leaders, teachers, and healthcare workers whom communities already trust.
"We have seen repeatedly that screening and vaccination outcomes depend on uptake, and uptake depends on community trust. Cervical cancer is preventable and treatable, and if detected early, highly survivable. Please do not let fear, stigma, or misinformation make decisions for you or your family. Ask questions, seek information from trusted health professionals, and remember that prevention remains our most powerful tool. Take action today!" Kithaka concludes.
Back to Wandera, she remains hopeful. After five chemotherapy sessions and 22 radiotherapy treatments, her cervical cancer initially went into remission. But the disease later metastasised to her lungs, requiring surgery to remove the affected nodes, and then to her right ribs, two of which were excised. Most recently, cancer was found in her left lung at an early stage and is being managed with chemotherapy. Despite the repeated blows, Wandera is optimistic the cancer will eventually disappear, paving the way for a hysterectomy (surgical removal of the uterus) to guard against future recurrence.
