Miscarriage caused me cancer, woman says

Jackline Nekesa alias Simon at Texas Cancer Centre where she does voluntary work after suffering from Uterine Cancer. She recovered after three operations. (Photo: Jenipher Wachie/Standard)

Twenty three years ago, Jackline Nekesa had a miscarriage that would change her life for the worse.

The 41-year-old says she has undergone a lot of suffering, especially after doctors told her she had developed cancer as a result of the miscarriage.

After the miscarriage, Nekesa says, bleeding never stopped. She became anaemic as a result of losing a lot of blood.

"I developed many complications after miscarriage. I had problems with my sight and I was in and out of hospital, almost on a daily basis," says Nekesa.

She added: "I started off my treatment in Busia County before I was referred to Kakamega. I was later told to go to Kenyatta National Hospital for specialised treatment."

Nekesa said she was also put on tuberculosis treatment for a whole year but her health did not improve.

Five years later, Nekesa says she was diagnosed with Choriocarcinona, a fast growing type of cancer that occurs in a woman's uterus and easily spreads to other organs, including lungs and brain, if not treated.

Dr Catherine Nyongesa, an oncologist at Texas Cancer Centre in Nairobi, says Choriocarcinona is caused by 'incomplete miscarriage'.

"After miscarriage, women should visit a doctor to check if fetus' tissues inside her womb have been removed completely. If these tissues remain inside the womb, they form abnormal cells which multiply rapidly and cause cancer," said Nyongesa.

Nekesa said she was lost for words when doctors told her the disease had already spread to her lungs and that she needed surgery. And as if that was not painful enough, she later learnt her right eye would never see again.

"I went to Kenyatta for surgery but even after that, the bleeding did not stop. I started cancer treatment but my situation worsened as I started having difficulties sitting," she says.

She adds: "The pain was too much, I would feel like a woman in labour. That is when a gynaecologist at Kenyatta recommended a second surgery otherwise, I would spend all my life in pain."

And because she developed anaemia in the process, she was in constant need for blood. Her sister, who hosted her whenever she was in Nairobi, went as far as asking her classmates to donate blood and money to support her.

"I would go for check-up every two weeks. My right side was affected and during one of my visits, the doctor told me I would no longer see with my right eye. He told me I had lost my right eye because of late diagnosis. The doctor could not do anything to help me as my retina had been detached," said Nekesa.

But she has also been a bit lucky that her sister in an oncologist. "I am glad she chose oncology, she has been of great help to me, especially because treatment is too expensive," said Nekesa who is works as a volunteer at Texas Cancer Centre, where she easily accesses treatment whenever she needs it.

She asked the Government to put more money into treatment and management of cancer, to help poor patients carry the burden.