The Standard Group Plc is a multi-media organization with investments in media platforms spanning newspaper print
operations, television, radio broadcasting, digital and online services. The Standard Group is recognized as a
leading multi-media house in Kenya with a key influence in matters of national and international interest.
In the late 80s and 90s, the biggest health question was if we would ever find a cure for HIV and AIDS. Thanks to science and research, this disease no longer poses the threat it used to.
Cancer has taken that spot now, being the number one killer worldwide - 13 per cent of all deaths worldwide are caused by cancer. The same question asked of HIV is now being asked of cancer: Will we ever find a cure?
The situation is more complicated than that. There likely cannot be just one cure for cancer, because there isn’t one disease called cancer. There are many different types of cancers, over 100 different diseases, and we would need to find a cure for each of them.
According to cancer.gov, in all types of cancer, some of the body’s cells begin to divide without stopping and spread into surrounding tissues. The normal process of cell division in the body is disrupted, and the body’s old and damaged cells that are supposed to die off fail to do so, while new cells that are not needed continue to be formed.
It is said that if we live long enough, all of us will get cancer. This is because mutations are what causes cells to divide abnormally. Mutations happen in our bodies everyday, but with every mutation, there is the chance of an error occurring during the process. Eventually, it will happen.
Inherited genetic factors cause five to 10 per cent of all cancers, while the rest are caused by environmental exposure, occupational risk factors, life-style related factors, bacteria and viruses and certain medications. Finding cures for cancer is made difficult by the fact that the growth of cancer cells is unpredictable, and can resurface even after treatment. A cure would mean that the person is completely cured, that the cancer does not return.
Current treatment is composed of chemotherapy, surgery, radiotherapy and hormonal treatment, which tend to have very unpleasant side effects. While they work very well for cancers like prostrate and childhood leukemia -- where 95 per cent of patients survive -- they do not work as well for deadlier forms of cancer, such as pancreatic where patients have only a six per cent chance of surviving five years after diagnosis.
Researchers are exploring other treatments which might be the solution, such as gene editing. According to healthline.com, this is “a process for adding, removing, or modifying genes. In the context of cancertreatment, a new gene would be introduced into cancer cells. This would either cause the cancer cells to die off or prevent them from growing.” Another promising treatment is virotherapy, where viruses are genetically modified to target and kill only cancer cells.
The 2010 study by KEMRI found that of the 2,292 cancer-related deaths recorded in Nairobi during a two-year period, oral tumours claimed the biggest percentage of victims.
According to National Cancer Institute Acting Director Alfred Karagu, most of the cancer cases are related to what we consume.“Over-consumption of red meat has increased cases of cancer of the oesophagus, intestines and stomach,” he says.
In Kenya, there are advances in managing cancerthrough screening and other preventative measures. Kiragu says they will start the vaccination of all girls aged 10 years for the Human Papiloma Virus (HPV).
Dr Sridar Susheela, a consultant oncologist at Healthcare Global Enterprise in India, says the cost of diagnostic services such as CT scans, MRI, ultrasound and radio-isotopes scans in Kenya is exorbitant compared to India and other Asian countries.
join