WITH CANCER, MONEY IS THE GREENLIGHT TO BETTER HEALTHCARE

Money is the green light to better health care,if you have it then you are in a better position,were the words of Fatuma Adan, A 45 year old Mother whose only son  succumbed to cancer of blood,leukemia.Sometimes in june i came across the story of Harun Abdulahi on Al Jazeera website highlighting the plight of 17 year old boy from a very poor background in Garissa, Northern Kenya .Indeed the mother explained the agony of the hospital trips, either for blood transfusion or complication arising from his condition which was made more complex by their lack of financial ability to access critical oncology care in his fight with leukemia.To bring this to perspective lets juxstapose the story of Rose Nasimiyu,the girl who at 9 years came to the public limelight oozing confidence ,courage and determination in her fight against Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. Cancer that affects the lymphatic system.Since she had the privilage of publicity,Kenyans of goodwill were able to contribute money and Nasimiyu was flown to UK for specialised treatment, she recently came back after 5 years and she is now cancer free .Appearing on Churchill show and Jeff Koinange live,one could easily notice the difference.She is a fully grown teenager,her british accent mesmerised me the most,infact i found it difficult to comprehend whether she was the only one on the bench.For a moment i wanted to imagine that my old black and white LG greatwall television had technical hitch so that a third person,possibly a briton women wasn't in my  view,but alas!it turned out to be the young and lively Nasimiyu.Being the village boy that i have always been, i was honestly lost in the interview on more than one occasion as those english words passed over my ears.Well,that is besides the point ,the lesson here is that cancer if diagnosed early and adequate treatment is avaliable in a timely manner several lives will be saved.However,its important to highlight the fact that a combination of several factors facilitate cancer treatment,early diagnosis and intervention is paramount,even with lots of money at late stages cancer will reign on you badly and the end result is fatal.A case in point is Harison Kiptoo,a young brother to the deputy president who died of kidney cancer,it is reported that he kept his condition to his chest only revealing it when the condition had advanced to late and irreversible stages,in the end he passed away.With better health institutions and affordable care rources will also not go into waste,did you know that over 10,000 kenyans seek  treatment outside the country annualy?Unfortunately its only those in the upper class that can afford or those surviving at the mercy of kenyans of goodwill like Nasimiyu or better still through Harambees. All is not lost though,there is a ray of hope as the Tesla cancer centre is due for competion next year. The indian prime minister in his recent visit to kenya also promised to provide critical equipment and drugs as well as built a hospital in Kenya.Its only a matter of when the promise will come to fullfillment. On that note i wish to pass my message of condolecence to the family of AK President Isaiah Kiplagat who lost his fight to  cancer the other week,may his soul rest in peace.Have a lovely weekend ahead,wont you?