Colon tumours go for younger people in Kenya
“After getting diagnosed for different ailments like typhoid and brucellosis, they finally told me I needed to have my appendix removed, and even that turned out to be wrong”, says Mr S. Mbatia.
Only after one year and numerous financially-draining visits to doctors and herbalists was the problem — colon cancer — finally correctly identified.
Doctors in Kenya are reporting a worrying three-fold increase in colon cancer, an affliction previously associated with elderly individuals in developed countries.
The experts say unlike other cancers, colon cancer patients invariably seek medical attention when it is too late mainly because the condition’s symptoms, such as abnormal bowel movement practices or bloody stool are ‘too embarrassing to discuss’.
According to a pathologist Dr Ahmed Kalebi, an even more worrying trend is that the condition is being seen among younger men than is the norm in developed countries. While on average the disease affects especially men in their fifties, Kenyan men between 41 and 50 years are most affected.
Low fibre
Experts say drinking too much alcohol, smoking, excess ‘nyama choma’ and a low-fibre diet are the main risk factors.
In a special edition featuring colorectal cancer, Dr Hassan Saidi and colleagues at the Aga Khan Hospital reported in the East African Medical Journal that patients had a tendency for prolonged delays from the onset of symptoms to the time they presented themselves for medical attention.
“Young men would rather discuss the number of beers they consumed instead of the number of bowel movements they had”, says Dr Kalebi.
Apart from constipation, one of the major indicators of colon trouble is blood in the stool, an occurrence that many want to ignore. The prospects of a rectal examination, a standard colon cancer screening method, can also be daunting.
Colon cancer is cancer of the large intestine (colon), the lower part of the digestive system. Rectal cancer is cancer of the last several inches of the colon. Together, they’re often referred to as colorectal cancers.
To help prevent colon cancer by identifying polyps before they become cancerous, some developed countries carry out routine screening for men over 60 years old.
Fatigue
In the absence of regular screening, Dr Kalebi says constipation, blood in your stool, persistent abdominal discomfort, fatigue and unexplained weight loss should raise a red flag.
The diagnostic challenges of detecting colorectal cancer are expected to ease somewhat with the opening of Lancet Kenya, a referral pathology laboratory affiliated to Lancet South Africa.
The facility, which opens in Nairobi in the last week of this month, will place Kenya at par with the world-class laboratories. Hospitals in the country will no longer need to send samples abroad, saving on costs and the time it takes to place patients on treatment.
Dr Ahmed, who heads Lancet Kenya, says that good laboratory services are the foundation of evidenced-based medical practice and essential for improvement of health industry standards.
The facility has fibre-optic link to Lancet Laboratories in Johannesburg, which will facilitate high-speed connectivity.
By BERNARD MUTHAKA Daily nation Wednesday, September 16 2009
