Kakamega Governor’s spouse prof. Janet Kasili Barasa has pledged to ensure all residents of the county undergo cancer screening for early detection and treatment. She also asked parents who have girls aged between 10-14 years to allow them to get the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) Vaccine to prevent them from cervical cancer. She said that the HPV vaccine is not for family planning, advising those who are spreading false information causing resistance among community members to stop. At the same time Prof Barasa asked men and women to only have one sexual partner as one of the preventive measures against cervical cancer. She urged residents to come out for screening against Cervical, Prostate and Breast cancer during cancer screening camps that are held at different parts of the county. Prof Kasili said those who will have symptoms of the disease will be treated or be referred for advanced medication. The Governor’s spouse is partnering with African Cancer Foundation and Matibabu Foundation to fight cancer in Kakamega. The Partners donated 70 scrubs uniforms to Malava Sub County Hospital during a cancer awareness and screening camp. ‘My target is to call upon all partners supporting maternal and adolescent healthcare to support me to achieve this goal, encouraging all health facilities to routinely screen the general population. I have taken up the initiative to increase uptake of cancer screening and treatment among men and women including HPV vaccination among girls aged 10 to 14 years,’ she added. She said that from available data, the county is not doing well in HPV vaccination and cervical cancer screening. According to the data from Kakamega Cancer Centre, the county achieved only 19.5% on HPV vaccination in 2022. ‘My desire is that by the end of this year, we should have achieved at least 30 per cent of the proportion of girls between 10 and 14 years who would have received the second dose of HPV vaccination,’ she added. Data from the centre shows that a total of 1,950 and 1,335 patients were screened for cancer of the cervix and breast cancer in 2022 respectively. At the same time, Kakamega Cancer Centre has treated a total of 230 cervical cancer patients, 257 breast cancer patients and 202 prostate cancer patients. She says there is minimal data on men screening for prostate cancer. ‘We all know when diagnosed early, most of these cancers are treatable,’ she noted. The Governor’s spouse said they will utilize Community Health Promoters (CHPs) for mobilization of community members and referral of patients for cancer screening and HPV Vaccination. She also asked residents to adhere to nutritional diets and always be active to keep at bay communicable diseases that arise from sedentary lifestyles.
Source: Kenya News Agency