A tale of a man's battle with throat cancer who chose not to succumb to the disease.

What was first thought of as a sinus infection turned out to be much worse than Zack Ezekiel Libamira could have imagined. But Libamira has vowed that he will ever succumb to the ravages of the virulent disease.

I am a 54-year-old father of three. In 2008, I began experiencing trouble breathing and talking. People thought I had sinuses and suggested I see an ear nose and throat (ENT) specialist. I was told that my nose was blocked and given medication that would clear it in a few days.

 For the next six months I struggled with a shifting pain from one part of my body to another but mostly on my chin which I cradled when talking to people. I saw a Dr. Nyawanda at Kenyatta National Hospital, who immediately suspected that I had a tumor on my nasal strip, but advised that I go in for a biopsy to confirm. He encouragingly said that only 20 percent of these proved malignant. This, along with the good results from blood work done on me the previous year, bolstered me on.

I returned a week later, this time to see a Dr. Nyaga, who would interpret my results for me. I was in the company of two close friends, Zadock and Betty, who opted to remain in the car. I was confident that the tumor would be benign but that was quelled by the doctor's body language as he came to read the results.

 My first thought, was that I was going to die. I broke down and cried. I however prayed quietly even as the doctor spoke. I remembered that God is a tenacious friend; I reminded myself that He had said that we were to owe no one anything but love – I still had so much I owed the world. In the middle of all that, I got a sudden image of my children and I knew that I was not going to allow cancer to take my life.

I went back to the car, exhausted and handed the results to my waiting friends. Betty wailed and prayed. Zadock quietly took the wheel of my car, drove to the Silver Springs roundabout, and feeling broken, switched off the car, got out and walked quietly away.

I numbly took the wheel, dropped Betty off at CITAM Valley Road and went to see a family friend in Gigiri. He recommended and paid for a second opinion. The second doctor suggested surgery, gave me his budget for this and wrote a new report all based on the first one. I went in for a third opinion at Kenyatta National Hospital with Dr. Owili and Dr. Omutsani. They referred me to Dr. Nyongesa of the Texas Cancer Center for chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

Everyone discouraged me from undergoing chemotherapy or radiotherapy without giving me reasons. I was to realise later that many had known someone who had died during these treatments. I went ahead with the treatment. It is an experience which I would not wish upon even the Al Shabaab for even five minutes. I lost close to 50kgs. I lost my appetite, and food bore no taste to me. I had mouth sores and my mouth got so dehydrated yet drinking water felt like someone was cutting my tongue with razors. I was bed ridden for a year and then could not walk without crutches for another nine months. Most people who saw me during that time, including my children and family were convinced that I would die. At one point my mother visited me and had to be admitted in hospital for high blood pressure afterwards. Many believed I was being punished for something. Many who came to visit me once never came back again. This hurt but due to my will to live, I was determined to forgive quickly.

I was earlier on conventional medication but later sought alternative treatment from China. I would take 72 Tiens capsules daily aside from the pain killers that I had been prescribed. The pain was incapacitating and the medication for it extremely expensive. Some nights it was so bad I would cry out to people to pray for me.

But I am now past that. A lot of cancer patients, even those with access to the best forms of treatment, will die if they are discouraged. I am now a global cancer spokesperson, and very passionate about reassuring patients that a cancer diagnosis does not have to mean a death sentence. I take a lot of care about my lifestyle, and I am a firm believer in prevention. It is not only better than seeking cure, but phenomenally less costly.