Entry Instance

HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept

{
    "id": 1272694,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1272694/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 149,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Nominated, UDA",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Dorothy Muthoni",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Kenyan. However, recognizing that cancer is the number three cause of mortality and the second leading cause of all non-communicable diseases in the country; noting that annual incidences are increasing by the day, I want to underscore that we have major types of cancer that spread across the board, and they are spotted in all communities. Cervical and prostate cancer are among the leading cancers in this country. The Member for Migori County has cautioned our young girls seated in the Public Gallery to care for their sexual health. This is timely because we see very young girls getting cervical cancer, one of the sexually transmitted cancers. I also join her in cautioning young girls on matters of sexuality, so they do not fall prey to this devastating disease. Many years after Independence, we are here talking of a disease that is causing havoc and that has been here with us for long. We are devastated because the health facilities that care for cancer patients are overstretched. We are concerned that we only have 58 oncologists, 60 oncology nurses, 12 oncology pharmacists, 27 radiology technologists, and two nuclear medical physicians in this country. These personnel are overstressed and overworked because the number of patients they handle daily does not match their expertise. I also note that out of the many cancer patients diagnosed yearly, 78 per cent have no chance of survival, meaning that most cancer patients do not make it. They die in the next one to five years after the detection of cancer. I was very concerned when Hon. Gladys Boss gave evidence of why our people are dying of cancer. Pesticides that have been condemned in the Western world are still on the counters in our country. Because of corruption, they still find their way to our farmers. We buy the products which have been sprayed with these pesticides, which expose all of us to the dangers of cancer. When you visit a market, grocery store, or fruit market, you do not enquire which pesticides were used to spray the vegetables and fruits you buy. It is high time we, as a country, joined forces and walked the talk of ensuring that if something is condemned, we all rise and condemn it. I urge the Government to ensure that the 257 condemned pesticides are out of our shops as early as tomorrow."
}