Our Story
In our daily lives we always take it for granted that we are fine. In fact when we hear of any tragedy we rarely feel that it may have hit us at a personal level. The plane is always crashing somewhere in Europe, in West Africa or in the Himalayas! Some kid is born without a leg in Peru; a goat is eaten by a cow in Papua New Guinea and not in Homa Bay nearer to us! The same story is with cancer: we rarely think that the victim can be “us” and not a poor fellow in Zacatecas!
Sometime in July 2011 I got the news after a biopsy at MP Shah Hospital, in Nairobi, Kenya, that I had prostate cancer. It was not easy to take but my wife Dorothy, family and the doctor helped me to face the reality and to begin preparing to live with hope and not despair into hopelessness. That was a great relief.
The next step therefore was to get prompt and effective treatment under qualified and professional hands. My wife and I read a lot through the Internet, getting to know what types of treatment were available and where. I went through radiotherapy and hormonal treatment at University of California, San Francisco, USA from January to February 2011.
I must thank Dr. Sam Oyugi and Ralim of the Hudson Valley Clinics, Dr. Siyad of Minesota, Dr.Omondi Nyong’o of the Palo Alto Medical Foundation and Dr. Mack Roach III of the Hellen Diller Medical Center of the University of California San Francisco. Here at home I am deeply indebted to Dr. Robin Mogere, Prof. G.B.A. Okello and Dr. Dan Gikonyo.
The Foundation was born out of this quest to mobilize support and help for the afflicted.
-Africa Cancer Foundation
It is the journey that these medical professionals put me through that led me to where I am today: treated, full of hope, ready to fight the war against cancer, and eager to spread the gospel of courage to those who face, or may face, the challenge to regain good health after discovering they have cancer. As a child of this experience, I am happy to join my wife, family, friends, colleagues, and supporters to launch the Africa Cancer Foundation.
After I had known my condition and made it public we received messages of support, inquiries for support and cries of despair from thousands of people. We discovered that there were many Kenyans who had cancer but did not know what to do or who to turn to. We could not possibly provide all with help or support. We needed support ourselves in trying to respond to their questions and concerns. The Foundation was born out of this quest to mobilize support and help for the afflicted.
I am convinced this is the best we could do. Where there is despair let us sow seeds of hope, all in the knowledge and faith that we are doing God’s will.