More Kenyan women are resorting to breast reconstruction surgery after having the organs removed due to cancer.
According to Dr John-Paul Ogalo, a surgeon at the facility, 50 patients have undergone the procedure at Kenyatta University Teaching Research and Referral Hospital (KUTRRH) since it started in 2021.
He divulged that the Social Health Authority (SHA) insurance scheme almost fully covers costs ranging between KSh 112,000 and KSh168,000 per patient.
Dr Ogalo spoke during the second symposium on breast reconstruction and aesthetics at KUTRRH, which was attended by specialists from around the world.
It drew doctors from Africa, Europe and America to share experiences and knowledge on breast cancer treatment and resultant reconstructive surgeries.
Dr Anthony Kamau, the acting KU Referral Hospital Director of Clinical Services, said that initially, SHA did not cover the reconstructive operations and appealed to more women to undergo the procedure.
Dr Nancy Van Lacker from Canada said the best assurance for cancer survival globally is early diagnosis and treatment, maintaining that no guarantee developed countries have a higher percentage.
She also said Kenya has some of the best health professionals in the world and the only challenge in combating chronic illnesses is a shortage of equipment.
Surgeons Dr Kwame Darko from Ghana and Dr Joan Fomtdevila of Barcelona, Spain also emphasized the need for early screening for cancer as a way of mitigating cancer cases.
Early last year, KUTRRH restored the hopes of many cancer survivors when it began reconstruction surgery.
The rare operation in a public hospital sees women who had lost their breasts to cancer regain their confidence after getting a chance to have the organ reconstructed locally.
Dr Kamau averred that although the reconstruction process is costly, it is necessary to help survivors overcome the stigma of living without the organ, which affects the quality of their lives.
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He added that the hospital has recorded some 82,000 cancer patients since 2020, out of which 2,500 were breast cancer patients who present their condition at stage 3 and 4, hence necessitating mastectomy.
“A lot of the women usually don’t know what to do after the surgery, they do not have the knowledge or the resources and therefore as one of the best cancer treatment and management hospitals in the country, we are thinking about how to help them get their lives back by doing breast reconstruction,” Dr Kamau said.
He noted that the hospital, through its PET-Scan machine, one of its kind in Africa, is scanning about 50 patients per day but raised alarm that most of the patients are presenting themselves at stage 3 or 4 of cancer.
“I think we need to have a system whereby even the insurance companies, institutions like ours and the government make it mandatory for people to have annual check-ups. It will enhance early detection, increase chances of survival, and be cheaper to treat the disease,” he said.
The institution has brought medical experts from Canada, the US, Argentina, Italy, and Ghana, among other countries, to collaborate with local doctors to conduct the operations.
Dr Josiah Moki, a consultant breast oncoplastic surgeon at KUTRRH, said the hospital has experienced younger breast cancer patients who present their condition at late stages but disappear after diagnosis for fear of mastectomy.
“We have concerns that most patients are in the later stages, which is usually challenging. We also have younger patients who present late, but they usually disappear for fear of mastectomy,” he noted.
KUTRRH has initiated a Breast Cancer Care Center and is planning to build a bigger regional care center, the first of its kind on the continent.
“The president approved the construction of a breast cancer care center, and we are pursuing making sure that funding is available for this mega project. We’ve heard that there are such facilities in the US and UK, but none in Africa. This will be a regional hub that will revolutionalize breast cancer treatment in this region.”
Last year, hospital management disclosed that plans to initiate the Kenyatta University Hospital Foundation are underway to raise money, which will go a long way in facilitating the treatment of cancer patients from humble backgrounds.
By Kamau Njoroge
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