Beyond the diagnosis: Why surviving cancer in Kenya requires more than treatment
By Lavender Kusimba, June 8, 2026When Derrick Omondi was diagnosed with cancer, he thought the biggest battle would be defeating the disease.
Instead, he found himself fighting on multiple fronts raising money for treatment, coping with debilitating side effects, battling emotional distress and trying to hold on to relationships that slowly faded as his illness progressed.
“We used to have weekly fundraisers,” he recalls.
Every two weeks, Omondi needed chemotherapy. His friends would mobilise contributions to raise about Ksh30,000 for each session. Once one treatment was complete, the search for funds for the next cycle would begin almost immediately.
“There are times that we could not meet the target for the day and my chemotherapy would pass to the next one, which was very tough,” he says.
His experience mirrors a growing challenge in Kenya, where cancer is becoming an increasingly significant public health burden despite advances in diagnosis and treatment.
Medical experts estimate that about 44,000 new cancer cases are diagnosed annually in the country, while nearly 29,000 people die from the disease every year. Data further shows that one in every six people is likely to develop cancer during their lifetime, while one in nine may die from the disease before reaching the age of 75.
Yet behind these statistics are patients like Omondi, whose survival often depends on more than medicine alone.
According to Catherine Nyongesa, a clinical oncologist at Texas Cancer Centre, late diagnosis remains one of the biggest barriers to improving cancer outcomes in Kenya.
“The journey to cancer treatment, from the symptom to treatment, is broken,” she says.
Nyongesa explains that many patients fail to recognise early warning signs, while others are misdiagnosed or face delays in obtaining definitive test results.
“Cancer is the biggest mimicker. People may have symptoms and not realise that what they are experiencing could be cancer,” she says.
The delays often mean patients arrive at treatment centres with advanced disease, reducing their chances of successful treatment and increasing the financial burden on families.
For Omondi, the burden became heavier when his cancer returned after the first round of treatment.
The recurrence required more aggressive chemotherapy and radiotherapy, increasing both costs and side effects.
“Things took a different twist when I had my first recurrence after the last round of chemotherapy,” he says. “That meant advanced dosage, extra costs and extra side effects.”
His cancer spread from his left leg to his lungs, neck and knee, forcing doctors to repeatedly adjust treatment plans.
“It was one of the toughest cycles because the side effects were double and the finances were double,” he says.
While access to treatment remains a challenge, experts argue that the fight against cancer cannot focus solely on chemotherapy, surgery and radiotherapy.
Life after cancer treatment
The introduction of cancer screening services under the Social Health Authority (SHA) is expected to improve access to preventive care, but experts caution that awareness alone is not enough.
Cancer survivors often face another challenge after treatment: learning how to live again.
Mikie Baron, a clinical occupational therapist, says rehabilitation services remain an overlooked aspect of cancer care in Kenya.
“Occupational therapy focuses on promoting functional independence,” he says.
According to Baron, many survivors struggle with basic activities such as dressing, grooming, working and participating in daily life after treatment.
“We go beyond the diagnosis and look at the patient holistically,” he says.
Cancer treatment can leave survivors dealing with swelling, scarring, reduced mobility and psychological distress, making rehabilitation essential to recovery.
Baron is now calling for greater integration of occupational therapy into cancer care and increased employment of rehabilitation specialists in public hospitals.
For Omondi, recovery was not only physical but also emotional.
He remembers losing friends who felt unable to help financially and family members who struggled to understand his illness.
“I ended up losing so many friends because they knew any conversation was going to come with some financial implication,” he says.
The emotional toll was immense.
“There were a lot of mental meltdowns,” he admits.
What kept him going, however, were counsellors, doctors and fellow survivors who showed him that life beyond cancer was possible.
“I would meet survivors who had gone through even more treatment than I, and they were still doing well. That continued giving me hope.”
Their stories gave him the strength to continue fighting through repeated recurrences and difficult treatment cycles.
As Kenya confronts a growing cancer burden, experts say the country’s response must extend beyond treatment centres and hospital wards. It must address delayed diagnosis, financial hardship, rehabilitation needs and psychological support.
For survivors like Omondi, beating cancer is not simply about reaching remission.
It is about rebuilding a life interrupted by disease and proving that survival is only the beginning of the journey.