FULL TREATMENT OF CANCER TO START IN NYAMIRA COUNTY HOSPITAL- DR.OMBATI
CANCER
Nyamira County Referral Hospital will soon offer chemotherapy treatment for cancer patients.
This will ease the burden for patients who have been seeking the service at distant health facilities.
County Health Services Executive Member Dr. Timothy Ombati Mokua disclosed that plans to offer full treatment of cancer are at an advanced stage.
This, Dr.Ombati noted, is in tandem with Governor Amos Nyaribo's health vision and mission of helping constituents access vital health services without having to incur uncalled expenses.
"I have had very fruitful discussions with top-notch representatives from the International Cancer Institute. Going forward, we have agreed on expanding our partnership territory so as to ensure cancer patients begin receiving chemotherapy treatment sessions from our Nyamira County Referral Hospital," Dr. Ombati said.
He said the move will help Nyamira constituents and her immediate neighbors shorten their long journies to other health facilities outside the county.
"This has always come with heavy financial burdens, especially when services are sorted from Eldoret, Nairobi, or other areas away from Nyamira."
Senior Onocolgy Nurse and ICI Team Leader Pamela Were welcomed the deal.
According to Dr. Ombati,
Chemotherapy is a drug treatment that uses powerful chemicals to kill fast-growing cells in onces body.
"Chemotherapy is most often used to treat cancer, since cancer cells grow and multiply much more quickly than most cells in the body. We have many different chemotherapy drugs available of which can be used alone or in combination to treat a wide variety of cancers," he said.
The youthful Minister in Governor Amos Nyaribo Government maintained that, though chemotherapy is an effective way to treat many types of cancer, it also has side effects.
"Some chemotherapy side effects are mild and treatable, while others can cause serious complications," added Dr. Ombati.
He said chemotherapy is used to kill cancer cells in people with cancer.
Research indicates that there are a variety of settings in which chemotherapy may be used in people with cancer: to cure the cancer without other treatments.
Other experts say chemotherapy can be used as the primary or sole treatment for cancer.
Ombati says, " Chemotherapy can be used after other treatments, such as surgery, to kill any cancer cells that might remain in the body. Other doctors call this adjuvant therapy."
Dr. Ombati says chemotherapy can be used to shrink a tumor so that other treatments, such as radiation and surgery, are possible, a medical move he refers to as neoadjuvant therapy.
"Chemotherapy may help relieve signs and symptoms of cancer by killing some of the cancer cells. Doctors call this palliative chemotherapy."
He added that the chemo move has proved advantageous and helps other diseases such as bone marrow diseases.
These are diseases that affect the bone marrow and blood cells.
It may be treated with a bone marrow transplant, also known as a stem cell transplant.
Speaking in his Nyamira office yesterday, Dr. Ombati received Ms. Darnelle Bernier, the Vice President of the Medical Donations Program in the Catholic Medical Misions Board.
The board deals with a number of donor-partner programs.
In nyamira, CMMB is currently implementing malaria program.
The disease is more prevalent in Nyamira North, Nyamira West, and Manga Sub-counties.
"We have had very fruitful discussions. We focused on areas of expansion to deal with NCDs, emergency programs, and critical care," Dr. Ombati said.
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