Story 1 

“Doc, I have stage III oesophageal cancer, and I have sold everything that I had including the parcels of land and my house here in the city, in order to afford my chemotherapy, but after just three sessions, I’ve run out of cash and will not be able to afford the remaining three sessions, so it is like it wasn’t worth it at all. I have to go back to my rural home and wait to die, because nobody can buy the medication for me, my children are still in primary school and I sold my business too” said patient R.O.O. 

Story 2 

“My brother has been referred to India, because the oncologist says the drugs that can treat his colo-rectal cancer are not available here. We are total orphans, he is in his 2nd year of university and I have used all my savings on treating him, after the health insurance I got for him was depleted after diagnostics and surgeries. I am the first born in a family of five, and I have a young family too, and am the only bread winner in both families. I do not have the money to take him to India, and even if I had, I cannot resign from my work to go with him to India for the treatment” said brother to patient G.A.O. 

Story 3 

“Doc, I am a nurse in this hospital, I have breast cancer stage III, I have health insurance cover, both the public cover and private cover, and was put on chemotherapy and got all the six sessions, but there is no remission still. The oncologist told me two weeks ago that I should get a centre that is undertaking a clinical trial on new drugs for breast cancer, I go get enrolled, to see if I can get remission on the new molecules, but there is no such clinical trial in Kenya and was told that mostly clinical trials on new cytotoxic drugs are never done easily in Africa, let alone Kenya. So, the oncologist has told me I either repeat the six sessions or go abroad for those trials” says K.A. 

Story 4 

“Doc, I had to sell my business vehicle and parcels of land to treat my mother, but after doing the laboratory tests and radiological examinations, I have run out of money to buy the chemotherapy drugs for her treatment. The drugs are running into hundreds of thousands for the eight sessions for her breast cancer and she doesn’t have health insurance, hence I have to use cash. I don’t see any hope for her” says H.O, son of a breast cancer patient. 

Story 5 

My National Health Insurance Fund cover ran out after six sessions Doc, and yet you guys need me to undergo eight sessions. I invested all that I had in paying the cover for a whole two years as I was told, in order to take care of all my treatment expenses, but now the oncologist tells me the drugs are very expensive and have gobbled all my premium in less than a year” A.K.L told me. 

Story 6 

Kenyatta University Teaching and Referral Hospital Cancer Center, our high-end private hospital that specialises in cancer diagnosis and treatment, where all patients who can pay are referred to instead of going to India or Europe or North America, has run out of chemotherapy drugs, and patients have been forced to miss two to three sessions of their scheduled eight sessions so far, even after paying for the treatment in advance. Patients are now afraid of their cancers becoming resistant to the only drugs available or even having very virulent recurrence that will take them to higher stages of the disease that are not treatable. The video of the heartbreaking national news is attached. SOURCE? 

Story 7 

“I have cancer of the colon and I have been told no drugs are available for me here that can treat my condition. I have to try Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital’s Cancer centre to see if they have a clinical trial on new drugs for colon ccancer. The only problem is that the hospital is 2,000 shillings return bus fare for only myself, and I do not have anyone I can stay with in that town. I don’t have that cash for the fare, let alone for any drugs if there is no trial there. I will just go home and wait for the inevitable, you’ve tried your best Doc” F.A.O. told me today.