Anyang’ Nyong’o shares emotional account of his 15-year battle with prostate cancer
By Mustafa Juma, July 11, 2026Kisumu Governor Prof. Anyang’ Nyong’o has shared an emotional account of his 15-year battle with prostate cancer.
In a statement shared via his official X account on Friday, July 10, 2026, Nyong’o revealed how the life-changing diagnosis inspired the creation of the Africa Cancer Foundation (ACF), which has since become one of Kenya’s leading cancer advocacy and support organisations.
Nyong’o, during the foundation’s 15th anniversary celebrations under the theme “Own Your Cancer Story”, reflected on the day he learned he had prostate cancer, describing it as a defining moment that reshaped both his life and his mission.
“Fifteen years ago, I sat in a doctor’s office and heard words that would change the trajectory of my life: prostate cancer. It is a moment that strips you bare. It confronts you with your own fragility, with the terrifying silence of mortality,” Nyong’o stated.
He said the diagnosis became the beginning of a larger commitment to ensure that no Kenyan battling cancer would have to face the disease alone.
“In that darkness, however, something remarkable happened. Mama Kisumu, Dorothy Nyong’o, and I made a solemn vow not only to survive, but to ensure that no Kenyan, regardless of the weight of their purse or the emptiness of their pockets, would have to walk the cancer journey alone, abandoned and without hope. That vow became the Africa Cancer Foundation,” he stated.
From personal battle to national advocacy
The governor said the foundation’s mission has always extended beyond raising awareness, focusing instead on restoring dignity and expanding access to quality cancer care for vulnerable patients.
In the statement, Nyong’o said the organisation’s work is ultimately about people whose lives are disrupted by the disease.
“I was reminded with tears in my eyes, of why we began this journey. Our mission is not abstract. It is flesh and blood. It is the mother in Kilifi who cannot afford chemotherapy. It is the young man in Kibra who fears the diagnosis more than the disease itself. It is to restore hope, uphold dignity, and provide quality cancer care to every single one of them,” Nyong’o wrote on X.
He noted that over the past 15 years, the foundation and its partners have helped expand cancer awareness, influenced public policy and increased access to screening services across Kenya.
“We have advanced policies that once seemed beyond reach. We have expanded screening and awareness to villages where cancer was once spoken about only in whispers. We have proven, with the stubborn persistence of those who have looked death in the eye, that advocacy transforms systems, while service changes lives.”
Mobile cancer clinic unveiled
As part of the anniversary celebrations, the Africa Cancer Foundation launched a mobile cancer clinic aimed at taking screening services directly to communities through outreach programmes in markets and other public spaces.
Nyong’o said the initiative is intended to improve early diagnosis, which remains one of the biggest challenges in cancer treatment.
He also reaffirmed support for the planned Chung Jeong-Eun–Nyong’o Cancer Centre in Kisumu and Kenya’s first public bone marrow transplant programme at the Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital (JOOTRH).
A diagnosis that changed everything
Nyong’o has previously spoken publicly about his cancer diagnosis, revealing that he was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2010 after a routine medical examination detected elevated Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) levels.
He later underwent successful treatment at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Medical Center, an experience that motivated him to champion early screening and cancer awareness.
Following his recovery, Nyong’o and his wife, Dorothy Nyong’o, established the Africa Cancer Foundation in 2011 to promote cancer prevention, early diagnosis, patient support and policy advocacy across Kenya and the continent.
According to the foundation, it has since conducted cancer screening and awareness programmes in numerous counties, trained hundreds of volunteers and advocated for improved access to treatment and stronger national cancer policies.