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At least 15  new cases of cancer are reported in Mombasa county every month.

This is according to Mombasa county health chief officer  Dr Khadija Shikely, who said the increased cases of the dreaded disease were worrying.

She said most cases have been documented at the Coast General Hospital cancer centre.

“A study conducted on the 800 to 1,000 patients  at the cancer centre reveals that cancer cases are on the rise, the numbers are quite high and this is alarming especially when you consider that this are only cases which have been brought to hospitals, those who remain at home are not captured and are also quite high,” she said.

She was addressing journalists at Tudor Health Clinic over the weekend where she oversaw, the screening of Mombasa county government staff.

Shikely noted that although the numbers were quite high, Mombasa residents were still afraid to undergo screening to avert possible death from cancer.

 “Cancer is a growing threat to people’s health in Mombasa, however, as witnessed, a few people are showing up for the testing, people are still afraid of being screened, and therefore, we  have seen the need to create awareness and sensitisation among our people to prevent possible deaths from cancer once detected early,” she said.

She noted that breast cancer was more prevalent in the area, while men’s major worry being  prostate cancer with 16.3 per cent prevalence rate, mouth and pharynx (5.6 per cent) and oesophagus cancer (5.4 per cent)

“For coastal women, statistics shwo they are at are at risk of breast cancer more than any other type of cancer, while  cervical cancer and esophagus cancer follow in order of prevalence,” she said.

 This is even as low turn out  has been witnessed at the Coast Provincial General Hospital, days after the Ministry of Health rolled out a cervical cancer vaccine Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) targeting 10-year-old girls.

The ministry has set aside Shh800 million ($8 million) to drive the roll-out over the next one year and targets to give the free vaccine against the cancer-causing human papilloma virus (HPV) to about 800,000 girls.