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Kenyan survivors: Cancer is ‘national disaster’

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Cancer patients and carers are calling on Kenya’s government to declare the illness a “national disaster” and provide extra funds.

Protesters took to the streets of the capital, Nairobi, in matching T-shirts that read Act on Cancer Today.

They say long delays caused by a lack of accessible and affordable treatment mean many patients’ conditions worsen.

Three recent high-profile deaths drew attention to cancer in Kenya which has 35 oncologists for 40 million people.

This means there are more than 3,000 cancer cases for each oncologist in Kenya, compared to less than 150 in the US and China, according to the Journal of Global Oncology.

For cancer patients living outside big cities like Mombasa and Nairobi, there are few hospitals equipped to deal with their specific needs.

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