This archive report was first published on 5 August 2019.
On a day when the nation was mourning the loss of two prominent figures, Bomet Governor Joyce Laboso and Kibra MP Ken Okoth, who both lost their battles to cancer, a 40-year-old woman in Naivasha was struggling to come to terms with her own diagnosis.
Purity Muthoni, a mother of two, had been undergoing treatment in various hospitals before she was finally diagnosed with breast cancer at Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH). According to her neighbour, Joyce Wangui, Muthoni had been living in Olkalau where she developed a growth in one of her breasts.
“She started undergoing treatment in various hospitals and was misdiagnosed with other ailments until the final blow was delivered at her at KNH,” Wangui said.
Tragically, Muthoni took her own life in her sister’s house in Kasarani Estate, hanging herself with a rope after telling her friends that she did not want to undergo the pain other cancer victims had gone through.
Naivasha OCPD Samuel Waweru confirmed the incident, stating that the body had been collected and taken to Naivasha Mortuary.
“According to the sister, the deceased received results that she was suffering from breast cancer and she went into depression before committing suicide,” Waweru said.
Former chairman of the agriculture committee in parliament, John Mututho, has attributed the increase in cancer cases to the consumption of non-biodegradable components in food, warning that the lives of millions of Kenyans are in danger due to dairy products with high levels of chemical residue.
