Cancer is one of the chronic non-communicable diseases whose diagnosis, treatment, and management, including palliative care, are costly.
Particularly, lung cancer has also been found to be one of the cancers with high mortality rates as compared to other types of cancer.
According to Dr. Lawrence Atundo Murunga, who works with the multinational lung cancer control programme based at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital, MTRH, out of 154 patients diagnosed with lung cancer at the facility within the last one year, 28 of them have succumbed to the disease.
Although lung cancer is not among the most prevalent cancer types in Kenya, the burden may be underestimated due to misdiagnosis as tuberculosis or other chronic lung conditions.
It is ranked 11th nationally but with a fatality rate of about 92% while, globally, lung cancer cases stood at 2.5 million as per 2022 statistics, with 1.8 million deaths, making it the leading cause of cancer-related deaths.
Non-communicable Disease Alliance-Kenya, NCDA-Kenya programme officer, Gideon Ayodo, said lung cancer was impoverishing families due to the high cost of treatment.
He said the government needed to implement appropriate policies in the Social Health Authority regarding health insurance cover for cancer treatment to alleviate patients’ suffering.
Dr. Atundo, speaking during a workshop on initiatives in lung cancer care and the launch of a toolkit that will empower patients and caregivers with knowledge and support, said diagnosing lung cancer was not easy as it cannot be just diagnosed through clinical observation.
“Lung cancer is not a disease that can easily be diagnosed at a low-level health facility because its diagnosis is meticulous and very expensive, requiring a high-end health facility, he observed, adding that the process of diagnosis requires the removal of a tissue by a specialist, an intervention radiologist who is the only one who can be able to avail the tissue from the lungs and taken through a CT scan-guided biopsy,” he said.
Lack of adequate professionals, he said, adds to the challenge of getting samples to test for lung cancer.
“In the entire western region, we only have two intervention radiologists, making it very difficult for them to handle all suspicious cases of lung cancer on time,” he said.
Detecting cancer early can sometimes mean the difference between life and death. When diagnosed at an early stage, the chances of successful treatment become a reality, but when the cancer has advanced and spread, the chances of survival, along with quality of life, may drop significantly.
Dr. Atundo further said the treatment of lung cancer was holistic and not just chemotherapy, radiotherapy, or any conventional treatment.
“We are putting a lot of effort in palliative care considering the high mortality; palliative care plays a key role in ensuring the patient has a better quality of life as they go through the disease,” he said.
Kenya Hospice and Palliative Care Association, KEHPCA Executive Director, David Musyoki, said the initiative in Lung Cancer Care (ILCC) programme has for the last five years been creating awareness of lung cancer as well as building capacity for healthcare workers at the primary health level to diagnose, refer and provide palliative care for patients with a diagnosis of cancer.
“The programme has also been building caregivers’ capacity to support patients, collect data for advocacy to scale up quality service, and form support groups for their psychological support.
By Kiptanui Cherono
