Ken Okoth’s Cancer: Kibra Member of Parliament Ken Okoth recently revealed that he is battling stage four cancer that has no cure.
Apart from the stage of the cancer, this revelation came as a shocker to many Kenyans. This was because the state of health for most politicians in Kenya is usually a top guarded secret. In fact, perhaps the only other prominent politicians to have publicly declared they have cancer are Kisumu Governors Anyang’ Nyong’o, Beth Mugo and the late Nyeri Governor Nderitu Gachagua.
Currently, 41-year-old Ken Okoth is battling colerectal cancer. “I was diagnosed with stage four colorectal cancer with metastases to the liver,” he says.
Colorectal cancer comes when cancer develops from both the colon and rectum. 50 per cent of colorectal cancer patients develop metastasis disease of the liver, which are tumour growths in the liver, spread from cancer causing cells in some part of the body.
But Okoth was not aware from the start that he had cancer. For over a year, Okoth presented symptoms of ulcers, at times bacterial infections and that is what he was being treated for. He was even put on drugs to manage stress. Okoth says that all that time, he was battling abdominal pain and weight loss. By the time his doctor ordered some advanced scans, the cancer was found at stage four.
“The fear of the unknown that accompanies a cancer diagnosis is immense. Cancer changes your life completely,” he says.
Last year, Okoth was put through vigorous treatment that involved combined radio- and chemotherapy to avert the impending risk of organ failure.
He responded well, he says, but that was just the beginning of his long-term treatment. Considering his cancer was discovered at stage four, he will have to take medication for life – a tablet each day.
“I will be using chemotherapy tablets that I can take every morning. Because my disease was discovered at a very advanced stage; it cannot be cured. It can only be managed,” he says.
Okoth admits that getting treatment for advanced cancer is not easy in the country, a challenge he has had to deal with himself upon recommendation by his doctors in Nairobi.
He was given two options where he could seek advanced care for his liver: the US or Europe. He settled for Europe.
“I could not afford the US because it was too expensive. My wife is from Europe, where the cost is more affordable and I could get a residence permit quickly for the duration of the treatment. Sadly, not everyone is as lucky; we need to make cancer care in Kenya a national priority,” he says.