Entry Instance

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

{
    "id": 1272710,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1272710/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 165,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Elgeyo Marakwet County, Independent",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Caroline Ng'elechei",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Cancer has affected almost all families. Two years ago, I lost my father and grandfather to cancer. I understand the plight that families go through when they have cancer patients. They feel helpless. They are traumatized, and they are drained into poverty. The worst nightmare is knowing that they will lose their patient if they are in the late stages of cancer, stage three and stage four. At times we spend a lot of money even after we have been told that our cancer patients should be given palliative care, and nothing can be done to save their lives. Since you cannot sit and watch your loved one die, you will spend money on them while knowing that that money will go to the grave. It is about time in this country for terminal diseases, especially cancer, to be made a burden to the Government. The Government should help the people of Kenya shoulder such burden. Some diseases like malaria and HIV/AIDS are preventable, but who can prevent cancer? It is a disease that we do not know when we have it. You can walk with it for several years before it is diagnosed. Then, you may be told that nothing can be done about it. If we were to combine the resources used by Kenyans to offer palliative care and treat their loved ones, it would be massive. It can even run the economy of this country. People who have and who do not have the means and need to have their loved ones stay alive will sell their property and fundraise to travel to India, China, the UK, or the USA for treatment. The worst thing is that when you are in any of these countries, you are never told that your patient may not survive. You will be milked to zero and might return with a patient who has died. The expenditure of having a dependant in those countries is not easy. As we speak, my friend is hospitalized in India. His name is Jude. He is being treated for cancer. It is not cheap. He has been there three times. He has done all he can, including taking loans. Some of these expenses can be made more affordable if, as Kenyans, we set aside a hospital that will exclusively deal with cancer. We have very many private hospitals. We also have institutions that deal with palliative care. When a cancer patient is on palliative care, they will still go for chemotherapy or radiotherapy, which is Ksh35,000 or Ksh45,000 per session. They may also need other drugs. So, you will pay for all these while knowing you will not have the person again. I support this Motion by Hon. Timothy. I want to thank my Member of Parliament for coming up with this Motion. It is time that we gave cancer the attention and resources that it requires. When people go outside the country to get treatment, they come back and tell us that the technology outside there is superior to what we have in Kenya. That makes me ask myself if the Government can allocate us one cancer centre that is fully equipped with modern equipment so that even if we fundraise to treat a cancer patient, we will not have to incur money on air tickets and hotels outside the country. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}