Vihiga County Governor Dr. Wilber Ottichilo Monday appealed to area residents to undergo cancer screening tests regularly in order to reduce rising cases of deaths associated with the killer disease.
Dr. Ottichilo made the appeal at Hamisi Sub County Hospital where World Cancer Day marked.
The governor used the occasion to officially open an oncology unit at the hospital, a unit he noted would enable the area residents to easily access cancer screening services.
This is the second oncology unit to be installed in Vihiga County and will be used to screen all types of cancers. The other similar unit is at the Vihiga County Referral Hospital in Mbale.
The earliest any type of cancer is detected in one’s body the higher the chances of it being treated, observed Ottichilo, while encouraging residents to regularly visit the two units for screening and possible treatment of cancer ailments.
The governor also revealed his government’s ongoing plan to establish a Telemedicine Centre at the Hamisi hospital to enable local doctors share important knowledge with their colleagues in the country.
The medical centre which will be inaugurated officially in February, would greatly assist local doctors to share medical knowledge and experiences with their counterparts in places like Nairobi, Eldoret and Mombasa, added Otchillo.
The governor said the proposed facility would eventually be upgraded to international standards to enable medics teleconference with their colleagues in foreign countries like India, thereby helping to reduce costs incurred when seeking diagnostic services.
He further said the county government plans to establish a third oncology unit at Emuhaya Sub County Hospital.
During the occasion, about 300 residents undertook free cancer screening tests immediately after the new oncology unit was opened.
By Maurice Aluda
