In Kenya, we still have some people and communities in rural areas who continue to link cancer disease to witchcraft. This has negatively impacting on diagnosis and treatment of the disease. Many cancer patients are being lured to take concoctions, herbal drugs, and eating certain parts of rodent species or wild fruits for cure.
The National Cancer Institute of Kenya through its awareness creation in community level cautions against the myths and misconceptions about cancer which comes at a time the disease has been on the rise among different ages and economic classes.
Cancer is not caused by witchcraft or any form of supernatural forces, it is a disease that can affect anyone, anywhere, in any country, at any time. Cancer is a complex group of diseases with many possible causes.
There are different risks to different people for different cancers. Some cancers are known to pass down families’ hereditary like breast, ovary, colorectal/intestinal and pancreatic cancer; therefore, those who have had a family member who has had such cancer would benefit from screening to assess risk and enable them to take necessary measures at an early stage to prevent cancer.
Other cancers are associated with age, viruses and lifestyle like smoking, stress, alcohol, bad sexual habits and diet for example, lung cancer, skin cancer, throat (nasopharyngeal), cervical cancer, and food pipe (oesophageal) cancer. Also, those with persistent infection with the Hepatitis B or Hepatitis C virus have an increased risk of developing cancer of the liver.
The age could be a contributing factor because the older you are, the more likely that you will develop a cancer. This is probably due to a buildup of damage to cells in the body over time. The body’s defenses and resistance against abnormal cells may become weaker as one gets older.
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