This archive report was first published on 27 August 2019.
According to a recent inquiry by the Aga Khan University Hospital, breast cancer patients in Kenya face significant delays in receiving treatment, with the average wait time being 10 months for those in public hospitals.
By the time patients in public hospitals finally start treatment, the disease is often at an advanced stage, making it more challenging to treat effectively.
The inquiry, which looked into 314 patient files at Kenyatta National Hospital and Aga Khan University Hospital, found that the delay in treatment is largely due to the long turnaround time for tests and procedures.
For example, the turnaround time for a biopsy or an immunohistochemistry (IHC) test in a public hospital is 38 days, compared to just 10 days in a private hospital.
Similarly, a pathologist's report may take 42 days in a public facility and just a month in a private one, while the turnaround time for imaging diagnostics is 74 days in a public hospital and 110 days in a private facility.
Dr. Majid Twahir, Associate Dean, Clinical Affairs at the Aga Khan University Hospital, attributed the delay to various factors, including the cost of treatment, the long distance patients have to travel to reach specialized facilities, and the shortage of specialists.
He noted that while 85% of the patients had an insurance cover, out-of-pocket costs were inevitable, and patients often had to incur significant expenses for transportation, accommodation, and other related costs.
Latest data by Globocan lists breast cancer as the leading cancer in the country, with 5,985 new cases reported in 2018, and 2,553 deaths in the same period, indicating that at least four out of 10 patients diagnosed with the disease died.
