How Homa Bay's lack of a cancer centre costs time, money and lives—and the plan to fix it
Homa Bay Referral Hospital.
What you need to know:
- The childhood cancer cases are often referred either to Moi or Kenyatta Teaching and Referral Hospitals.
Every two weeks, Benta Otieno makes a long journey from her home in Oyugi, Homa Bay County, to a health facility in Kisii. She travels so her 14-year-old son, a colon cancer patient, can receive chemotherapy; a treatment unavailable in their home county.
Homa Bay County lacks a dedicated facility to treat cancer patients, including children. According to the County Chief Officer for Health, Dr Kevin Osuri, the main referral hospital sends up to 15 cancer patients each week to neighbouring counties for management.
Benta Oketch, an oncology nurse at Homa Bay County Referral Hospital, explains that the facility is currently equipped only for screening and staging cancer. “After screening, we perform an X-ray and later collect tissue samples, which are transported to a lab in Nairobi for tests,” says Ms. Oketch. The results take about two weeks to return
Once the results are in, the hospital performs a CT scan to determine the disease's stage and then refers patients to a better-equipped facility outside the county for treatment. The hospital also provides counselling for patients and their caregivers.
“The childhood cancer cases are often referred either to Moi or Kenyatta Teaching and Referral Hospitals,” says the nurse. She notes that the most prevalent childhood cancers in the county are leukaemia and cancers of the blood and bone marrow.
“For the last two years, we have referred 20 cases of childhood cancers to other facilities for treatment,” says Ms Oketch, adding that the cases might be higher since some of the patients are referred directly from the paediatric clinics.
Late diagnosis
The health expert further notes that referral of patients for either diagnosis or treatment often leads to late diagnosis, affecting the treatment outcomes after the cancer.
Patient follow-ups, she says, have also revealed that some fail to access services at the referral facilities, citing financial constraints.
“We also have cases where the patients end up defaulting treatment due to the distance to the hospitals.”
A partnership between the county government of Homa Bay and the Aga Khan hospital is, however, promising to offer relief to the cancer patients.
The two signed a Memorandum of Understanding to facilitate the establishment of the first cancer centre under the East Africa Comprehensive Cancer Project.
According to Ms Oketch, the groundbreaking of the project set for next month will see the county put up both child and adult cancer care clinics in two months.
“Before a child is diagnosed with cancer, we always refer them to different facilities. The same happens once they are diagnosed and referred for treatment. The waiting period often allows the disease to progress, affecting treatment outcomes.”
She adds: “With the facility in place, the cancers will be diagnosed and managed at an early stage, improving our treatment outcomes.”
Dr Osuri further says the facility will remedy the challenge of staff shortage and poor infrastructure that has further derailed cancer care in the county.
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