Celebrated Kenyan volleyballer Janet Wanja has been diagnosed with cancer of the gallbladder, her family has said.
The former Kenya Pipeline setter is undergoing treatment in Nairobi. Wanja is fresh from competing with the Malkia Strikers team at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, where she was the team’s trainer.
“Janet Wanja, a former Malkia Strikers and Kenya Pipeline player, has been unwell for the past four months. Wanja, who was the Malkia Strikers trainer at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, has been diagnosed with cancer of the gallbladder and is undergoing treatment in Nairobi," Wanja’s brother, Kevin Kimani, said in a statement.
"On behalf of the family, we hereby request for your emotional support during this difficult time even as we pray for her quick recovery. We shall give further update on her progress,” Kimani, who plays for Football Kenya Federation Premier League team Mathare United, said.
Wanja, 40, is a former student of Mukumu Girls High School. She played volleyball for the school as a student.
She also represented Kenya at the 2004 Olympics Games in Athens, Greece, where she made her maiden appearance for Kenya at the Olympics.
Former national women's volleyball team setter Janet Wanja during a training session at Moi International Sports Centre Kasarani on June 26 2019.
Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group
Wanja, who boasts multiple best setter awards, went on to be the mainstay of the team, before calling it quits in 2017. She however continued playing club volleyball until 2019 when she retired.
As a setter, Wanja has had a healthy competition in the national team with Jane Wacu, who now plays professional volleyball in the Seychelles.
Wanja was Team Kenya’s assistant captain when the team won the historic 2015 World Grand Prix in Australia, with Brackcides Agala as the team captain.
Wanja was also part of the Kenya Pipeline team that won the Kenya Volleyball Federation national league titles in 2014-2017. She also played for KCB women's volleyball team.
Cancer of the gallbladder is a growth of cells that begins in the gallbladder, a small pear-shaped organ on the right side of the belly, just beneath the liver.
The gallbladder stores a fluid called bile that the liver makes to digest food. Gallbladder cancer is not common.
