Kibra Member of Parliament Hon Ken Okoth has keep up the fight against cancer, a month after he revealed that he has cancer, he has tried to keep Kenyans abreast of his condition.
Mr Okoth revealed that he was diagnosed with advanced colorectal cancer, adding that the disease cannot be cured but only managed.
On Tuesday, the 41-year-old legislator, responding to a tweet by a person who asked how he was doing, readily gave an update.
“Napambana na hali yangu kabisa (I am dealing with my condition). Chemo drugs are brutal on the skin and immunity system,” he said.
Residents of Kibra constituency Nairobi County have organized a friendly match to support him.
“#Mhesh@okothkenneth has gone a long way and this Sunday the team is dedicating the match to him with one message #WeShallOvercome”
Chemotherapy is a form of cancer treatment that uses one or more drugs as part of a standardised regimen. It may be given to cure the disease, to prolong life or to reduce symptoms.
“I was diagnosed with stage four colorectal cancer, with metastases to the liver,” he told a local daily.
For over a year, he said, he had symptoms of ulcers, and sometimes of bacterial infections, for which he was treated. At some point, he was even given medication to manage stress.
By the time his doctors ordered advanced scans, the disease had already reached stage four.
Even as cancer treatment improves and survival rates go up, so, too, does the number of people afflicted by the deadly disease.
New data suggest that the global burden has risen to 18.1 million cases, which are predicted to reach 29.5 million by 2040.
Last year, the World Health Organisation’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) recorded 9.6 million cancer deaths.