Newsline
22/10/2021
We Listen, We Care
Issue 22
22/10/2021
KNH @120 YEARS
PHOTO | NICHOLAS WAMALWA
KNH’s First-Ever Muslim Chaplain “B
ismillah-ir-Rahman-irRahim” (in the name of Allah, the most gracious, the most merciful). Those were the first words uttered as we settled in for our interview with Sheikh Rashid at the KNH Mosque. Sheikh Rashid, famously known as Abu Najma, grew up as an orphan and lived in a children’s home at Eastlands, Nairobi, from
an early age of 4 years until he was 18 years of age. Life at the children’s home was quite difficult. This, he says, shaped him to mature at an early age. He vividly recalls how the sense of community and togetherness during those days was essential and played an important role in his upbringing. “Muslims, Christians, and Hindus would
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play together, eat together, celebrate holidays like Eid and national holidays as one big family without even noticing the differences in their religion,” he said. When he completed high school in 1994, he left the children’s home and got his first job as a salesperson at an electronics shop in Nairobi’s Luthuli Avenue. »»» Read full story on page 3
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Contents
Editor’s note
ISSUE 22 Editor’s note p.2 KNH’s first-ever muslim chaplain p.3 KNH records best ever score in PC evaluation exercise p.4 - 5 Pregnancy and Infant Loss awareness month p. 5 - 6 Purposeful storytelling results to healthcare success p.9 Celebrating the International Infection Prevention Week p.11 Breast cancer, mastecotomy, reconstruction and me p.12
ON THE COVER KNH’s first-ever muslim chaplain p. 3
Marketing & Communication Department New Design Concept Team: Dave Opiyo, Edel Q. Mwende, Yvonne Gichuru & Collins Cheruiyot Editorial Team: Dave Opiyo & Edel Q. Mwende Stories: Edel Quin Mwende , Vincent Chagara , Verah Mugambi, Winfred Gumbo, Sheila Murithi, Marian Moraa, Petterson Njogu & Yvonne Gichuru Design By: Collins Cheruiyot Photos: Nicholas Wamalwa, Yvonne Gichuru, Sheila Murithi, Edel Quinn Mwende & Ken Ndung’u
Dear colleagues, Curfew (lifted), Covid-19 (not lifted). Make infection prevention and control your personal goal and priority. All the newsletters can be accessed online on: https://bit.ly/3uQGCcI Mr. Dave Opiyo, HoD, Marketing & Communication Kenyatta National Hospital
Tel: +254 20 2726300-9 Ext. 43121 or 43969 Fax: +254 20 272572
Email: caffairs@knh.or.ke knh.caffairs@gmail.com
To contribute or report on newsworthy items, please contact the Editorial team.
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Find us on Social Media Kenyatta National Hospital
Kenyatta National Hospital Official Page
@CeoKnh @KNH_hospital
www.knh.or.ke
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KNH’s first-ever Muslim chaplain (Assalamu alaikum), meet Sheikh Rashid Muhammad a.k.a. Abu Najma, the officiating Muslim chaplain of the KNH mosque. By Edel Quinn Mwende
“B
ismillah-ir-Rahmanir-Rahim” (in the name of Allah, the most gracious, the most merciful). Those were the first words uttered as we settled in for our interview with Sheikh Rashid at the KNH Mosque. Sheikh Rashid, famously known as Abu Najma, grew up as an orphan and lived in a children’s home at Eastlands, Nairobi, from an early age of 4 years until he was 18 years of age. Life at the children’s home was quite difficult. This, he says, shaped him to mature at an early age. He vividly recalls how the sense of community and togetherness during those days was essential and played an important role in his upbringing. “Muslims, Christians, and Hindus would play together, eat together, celebrate holidays like Eid and national holidays as one big family without even noticing the differences in their religion,” he said. When he completed high school in 1994, he left the children’s home and got his first job as a salesperson at an electronics shop in Nairobi’s Luthuli Avenue. During weekends, he conducted dawaah programs in schools while every evening after work, he attended Al-Furqan classes in Kenya and lectures in various mosques to quench his thirst for Islamic knowledge. He was also a team member of ‘Msafiri Daawah’; a team of Muslim faithful that visited institutions such as Kenyatta National Hospital, back in 1997, to pray, motivate and encourage patients. He married early; at 20 and started his family with the income from the electronics shop in Luthuli Avenue. “I got a scholarship to pursue my bachelors’ degree in Islamic Law (Sharia) at International University of Africa, Khartoum, Sudan, from 2009 and graduated in 2014. My firstborn was then in class 8 awaiting her
KCPE, and I had never been away from my family in 15 years. This was a life-changing experience,” he told Newsline. “I had no birth certificate to process my passport but Allah guided me all through and I was ready to travel; within a week,” he recalled. In his community, one is considered learned only if they go to a Muslim foreign country for Islamic studies and they are well versed in Islam. Sheikh Rashid’s curiosity about religion was his main inspiration to study Islam. Since he grew up with both Muslims and Christians, he wanted to read and understand both faiths and Islam further piqued his curiosity. “The love for Islam is engrained in me. I love Arabic and the rhythm of the Quran,” he passionately pointed out.
He has mostly been a volunteer serving people at various levels such as radio show host at Iqra FM, Abu Najma with kids TV program on Horizon TV that won 3rd place in the local children programming TV of KUZA awards in May 2021. He has also taken part in National schools’ Islamic rallies as a motivational speaker and guidance and counseling programs in various high schools and universities in Nairobi. “The love The Imam is under the chaplaincy for Islam is unit at KNH and he is the religious engrained in me. leader at the mosque in consultation I love with his fellow KNH Muslims. Arabic “Everybody is listened to when it and the comes to matters of religion at the rhythm mosque as long as it’s for the sake of of the Quran,” Allah the Almighty,” he added. On a typical day, he arrives at the hospital at 6:30 a.m. for his private
PHOTO | NICHOLAS WAMALWA Sheikh Rashid and muslim faithfuls during prayers at KNH mosque
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‘Salah’, then prays for patients at the wards. At noon, he prepares for a short sermon for the Muslim faithful, which he shares after ‘Dhuhr’ prayers. The mosque serves about 45 Muslim faithful on average per prayer session. ‘Dhuhr’ prayers are between 1 pm - 1:15 p.m. ‘Asr’ prayers are in the evening from 4 p.m.- 4:15 p.m. Friday
lectures begin at 12:45 p.m. and end at 1:30 p.m. “My vision for the mosque is to see the patients learn how to pray for their healing with guided prayers which I aim to write and publish. The ladies’ side of the mosque needs some renovation and I aim to also see this done. Soon, I intend to teach the Muslim staff Arabic
for them to understand the Quran better. I am also working with the Christian chaplain to offer religious nourishment to all the stakeholders at KNH. It’s a blessing to be the first Imam (Muslim chaplain) in 120 years, for this leading premier hospital of choice. I am truly humbled,” added Sheikh Rashid.
KNH records best ever score in PC evaluation exercise By Vincent Chagara Kenyatta National hospital has recorded its best score in the just concluded Performance contract evaluation by the Ministry of Public Service. The hospital recorded a score of 2.886, an improvement from the 3.1763 recorded last year. An elated Chief Executive Dr. Evanson Kamuri, EBS described the new development as ‘excellent’ and thanked all staff for ‘putting in the extra effort while undertaking their duties.’ The Hospital implemented the Board Performance Contracting for the FY 2020/21 in line with the 17th Cycle PC guidelines. The performance guidelines require among others, that the annual performance evaluation be undertaken for all Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) that sign and implement Performance Contracts. The culmination of the implementation of the 17th cycle PC guidelines is the evaluation and subsequent grading of performance that forms the basis for rewards and or sanctions. In preparation for the PC evaluation exercise, the hospital through the office of the Director Planning and Strategy headed by Mr. Job Makanga swung into action to prepare comprehensive, verifiable, accurate, consistent, and authenticated documentary evidence, conduct self-assessment, and engage various actors to defend their scores through a rigorous closed-door meeting. The user discussions also referred to as PC dry-run entailed one-
on-one discussions and provision of justifications for exemplary and underperformance including exogenous factors. The annual performance evaluation was undertaken with strict observance of the COVID-19 protocols and directives to mitigate the spread and effects of the pandemic. In his remarks during the exercise, Dr. Kamuri said, “During the year, the Management re-engineered structures and processes that revolve around the patients’ needs. The various initiatives have aided in improved hospital performance and enhanced quality of services.” The CEO further invited the external evaluators to take a facility walk to appreciate the major strides KNH has made towards repositioning itself to offer specialized healthcare services aimed at enhancing access
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and quality of care. KNH Board Chair Mr. George Ooko on his part appreciated the hospital for committing to deliver on her mandate. “KNH remains focused on the noble mandate to offer specialized referral services in a safe and secure environment aimed at optimizing patient experience through innovative, evidencebased specialized healthcare; facilitate training and research, and participate in national health policy formulation,” he said. “As we execute the 18th cycle Performance Contract, the Hospital’s focus will be on transforming specialized healthcare service delivery towards Universal Health Coverage. We have to remain resilient in our operations and in discharging our mandate.”
PHOTO | NICHOLAS WAMALWA KNH & PSC teams during the evaluation of the FY 2020/2021 Performance Contract
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Performance contracting cycle
identification targets Release of results
Negotiation
PC Cycle
Evaluation/ Moderation
Vetting
Execution
Signing
PC Performance trends
The figure below illustrates the strategy implementation and performance contracting annual score trends. The PC composite score of 2.8868 for the financial year 2020/21 is the highest KNH has attained since the introduction of the initiative in FY 2003/04. According to Mr. Makanga, a composite score is an aggregate rating that takes into consideration the PC parameters (financial, service delivery, core mandate, implementation of presidential directives, promotion of local
content, and cross-cutting). The Composite Score is computed by adding up the weighted scores of all the performance indicators in the performance contract. The Composite Score ranges from 1.00 (excellent) to 5.00 (Poor). Said Mr. Makanga; “The operating hospital environment is dynamic. The environmental turbulence hurts our operations. However, KNH has adopted strategies to sail through the changing environment and tap into existing opportunities to offer seamless delivery on her mandate. We have been able to rethink
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our strategies to perform better than the competition. Adoption of differentiation strategy geared towards the provision of unique specialized services is not an option”. The hospital performed exemplary on various indicators. Notably, an increase in open-heart surgeries, minimally invasive surgeries, other specialized surgeries depicted a rise and upward trajectory. Steps towards the introduction of liver and corneal transplant, increase in theatre utilization, research, development of treatment protocols, and reduction in pending bills performed well. During the year, the Hospital undertook various HIV/AIDS prevention measures which included the introduction of a health screening package for HIV, cancer, blood pressure, blood sugar, and BMI, sensitization on conflict and stress management, sensitization to persons on Non-communicable Diseases (NCDs) including cancer (breast, cervical and prostate), diabetes, hypertension, stress management and rollout of a sensitization package on HIV prevention. Mr. Makanga appreciated the entire planning and strategy team for exemplary work and urged the team to aim higher and work towards the achievement of this year’s pc composite target of 2.8 (Very Good). To sustain performance, the hospital will take advantage of lessons learned to streamline performance as well as re-engineer hospital operations through institutionalizing culture change initiatives throughout the hospital.
Mr. Job Makanga Director Planning & Strategy
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Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month The loss of a child/children is painful and silent grief for parents By Verah Mugambi October has been designated as the Pregnancy & Infant Loss Awareness Month. It aims to honor those lives lost through miscarriage, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDs), stillbirth, the death of a newborn, and more. It allows parents, grandparents, siblings, and the whole family and friends to connect and commemorate babies’ lives, however long ago they passed. Pregnancy loss is often not spoken about and is mourned in private with little support. This has become even more challenging over the past eighteen months when support services and normal social gatherings have been cut down due to Covid-19 restrictions. Pregnancy is a journey of a mother and her unborn baby. It comes with challenges and risks, creating a strong bond for both. The joy and the expectation can, however, be overwhelming. But all this can be broken through miscarriage, stillbirth, or loss of a child. The void, emptiness, and ensuing loneliness destabilize parents emotionally, socially, and physically. Unfortunately, society concentrates on the mother more and forgets the father was also affected by the loss. Men face loss differently. They mask the pain; bottle their emotions since they have few channels of opening up and besides, that’s what the society ‘expects of them’. The Newsline team met Mr. Onesmus Mwakio, who lost his baby in 2014. He shares with us a father’s perspective in the grieving process. “Unlike times of our grandfather’s, men are now more involved in children’s lives than ever… from pregnancy journey to delivery room. The role of fathers has shifted, which raises the question: why are we not given equal space to grieve?” “As a husband, you are a
passenger on the pregnancy journey. You can look out the window and watch the scenery go by, her belly grows, her skin glows, and her cravings kick in as you countdown the day you expect your angel.” “Unfortunately when the unimaginable happens, you find yourself struggling with your own emotions, grief, and loss, depression while watching as your wife also struggles, you see your life tumbling down everything crashing in slow motion.” He says as the man of the house, one is expected to be the rock of your family. “You, therefore, need to suck it up and move on with life, including supporting your family emotionally. You will meet with family and friends and they will more often than not ask about how your wife and everyone else is doing and not enquire about you,” he adds laughing “I call on our society to support fathers who have lost babies. Let us remember to ask how they are, not just how their wives or partners are
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doing. Let us provide them with a safe space where they can offload their emotions and provide the right support system.” “We have to acknowledge the role of fathers in raising their children keeps evolving and so should societal expectations. “It never goes away you learn to live with the loss, we forever have our angel babies in our hearts and minds always. As you can see am here with my wife expecting our rainbow baby. We truly thank God”. Mr. Mwakio concludes as he exchanges lovely gestures with his wife. Men also deserve support as they navigate and try to overcome child loss. Not having support costs more than we imagine. While child loss may be a more common occurrence than people think, millions of mothers and fathers do not know where to turn for grieving support before, during, or after losing a child. Bereaved families long for ways to honor their deceased babies but the African setup makes it difficult to do it free without stigma.
PHOTO | STOCK
#sharesomelove
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Pomp and colour as celebrations to mark Hospice and Palliative Care Day held The little voices of hope in care beyond pain management By Winfred Gumbo Kenyatta National Hospital joined the rest of the world to mark this year’s World Hospice and Palliative Care day. The celebrations are marked annually on the second Saturday of October to honor and support hospice and palliative care. For one week, several online and physical sensitization activities took place to make Kenyans aware of the importance of pain management amidst illness. According to World Hospice and Palliative Care Alliance (WHPCA), 76% of people who need hospice and palliative care are in developing countries, 57 million need palliative care; 25 million at the end of life each year, and 18 million die in unnecessary pain and distress each year. Newsline had a sit down with some KNH staff and clients on their experiences in palliative care. Dr. Esther Nafula – Head of Unit, Pain and Palliative Care, KNH She is a palliative care specialist. To access her unit, one requires no appointment. Anyone is free to drop by for any assistance. “As we mark this year’s World Hospice and Palliative Care Day, we would like to create awareness for people to know the importance of palliative care to anyone undergoing treatment despite their financial status, where they come from, their social and financial status since as long as someone realizes they have an illness that is going to take a long time to heal, they need palliative care,” she told Newsline. Dr. Nafula encourages anyone with a life-threatening condition to visit the unit since the clinic is open from Monday to Friday. This is in line with this year’s celebration theme; “Leave no-one behind - equity in access to palliative care”
PHOTO | NICHOLAS WAMALWA Volunteers from Faraja Cancer Support take part in playing with the children in Ward 3D to mark World Hospice and Palliative Care Day. In attendance were Pain and Palliative Care Unit staff led by Dr. Esther Nafula (Standing, L)
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Anne Mwangi – Assistant Chief Nurse in Charge, Pain and Palliative Care Unit, KNH Armed with years of experience, she is a Palliative Care Nurse Specialist who has played an important role in the Unit’s operation. “We are currently five nurses who see an average of over 100 patients in a month, we believe the quality of life of patients should always be better despite the nature of their illnesses,” she told Newsline. “When a patient comes to us, we always explore ways of addressing their needs in totality,” she continues. She encourages all to be there for patients in their journey to recovery by showing value to them. John Kanyi – Chaplaincy Unit, KNH John Kanyi is an Assistant at the Chaplaincy Unit that works hand in hand with the medical team to help
patients and their caregivers with spiritual support during treatment. “We listen and guide our patients during sickness to help them in the process of recovery,” he told Newsline. “We are cognizant of the fact that illnesses can take a toll on the patients and even the caregivers around them like burn out so we help them maintain quality of life as best as possible,” he said. “We visit our patients in the wards and clinics and sometimes, we see the need of listening to them and help them air their fears in dealing with pain. We understand the aspect of human suffering and help them conquer fear lost during the period of sickness,” he continued. He encourages patients to visit the Chaplaincy Unit at any time since there is always a team ready to serve.
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Lucy Nyambura – Daughter to a Palliative care patient, KNH Lucy’s mum has been receiving palliative care for a couple of years now. She had been diagnosed with Cervical Cancer. When she first heard of palliative care, she thought it meant the end of life to her mum who is so dear to her. Due to her interactions with medics at KNH, she now knows the importance of pain management. “I have worked with a multidisciplinary team from the Pain and Palliative Care Unit at KNH during my mother’s period of sickness and all I can say is the journey has been quite well despite the challenges of having a terminally ill mother,” she told Newsline. “The Unit has specialists in guidance and counseling, nutrition and physiotherapy who are all important in handling pain; my mum has been receiving all these services and I am very grateful because they are mobile, at times they pay us a visit at home to occasionally check on mum,” added Lucy. “Additionally, they are always available to us since I can call them any time, be it day or night when my mum is in pain and they deal with what is at hand during that particular moment,” said Lucy with a smile on her face. Lucy now believes in the importance of pain management and encourages anyone with a
PHOTO | YVONNE GICHURU Gladys Mukosi (R), Senior Chief Nurse at the Pain and Paliative Care Unit helps organize clients who came for Medical Outreach to mark World Hospice and Paliative Care Day
patient not to be afraid of seeking it. Joan Mukisa – Mother to a palliative care patient, KNH While living in South Africa, Joan’s daughter developed symptoms she did not understand. She sought medical help from a nearby hospital but medics at the facility did not help much. They did not know what was happening to her child. She was very frustrated and wondered why a team of specialists could not treat her daughter who was in so much pain. She was just given painkillers to calm the baby but that did not work.
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One day, while on a visit to Mombasa, her child developed symptoms like the previous ones. She decided to seek treatment at the Coast General Teaching and Referral Hospital. “It was while undergoing treatment that the doctor came to know my child’s condition. She was suffering from sickle cell anaemia,” she says. The rest, as they say, is history. She was referred to KNH for specialized treatment. Joan says she will be forever grateful to the team since they have been able to make her child’s pain more bearable.
PHOTO | YVONNE GICHURU Dr. Amina Guleid (M), Head of Unit, Universal Health Coverage and Medical Outreaches directing clients to the van for breast and cervical cancer screening to Mark World Hospice and Paliative Care Day
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From the communication desk:
Purposeful storytelling results to healthcare success
By Sheila Murithi Storytelling in healthcare is an influential and effective tool for doctors, administrators, staff members, and patients. It fosters effective communications that engage both patients and providers intending to enhance the hospital’s medical marketing message and produce a positive patient experience with health outcomes. We are all storytellers but in different scenarios. Often are the times we hold to core a friend’s experience/testimonial before choosing to consume a service or buy a product especially when it is a bit pricy. This does not exclude healthcare…health is of significant value, is it not? Stories and storytelling are at the heart of medical marketing, hospital public relations, and physicianpatient interaction. Stories can be conversations, online testimonials and credible guidance for patients, news releases, healthy lifestyle motivation, and loads of other forms of communication. Storytelling is a powerful means to inform and persuade; a good story is experiential, easily remembered, and an effective tool for the hospital’s marketing, patient satisfaction, and better healthcare. In addition, its exponential reach is free.
With the wealth of stories Kenyatta National Hospital has, we tell them out to the public to drive positive conversations on our media channels.
Here are some of the reasons why stories are effective in healthcare brand delivery: A story is mentally richer than simple instructions – a person is more likely to remember details of the service and care received when narrated in a story as opposed to listed instructions. A story motivates and inspires acceptance, action, and compliance – for example, a person is more likely to take the COVID Vaccine if they see testimonials on social media of people getting vaccinated and giving positive feedback as opposed to an advert urging the public to get vaccinated. A story has the power to engage and involve the patient – If a patient is going through a similar ordeal they will see themselves through the narrator. A story ignites empathy and imagination – It will take the recipient through a journey in their mind to see what the hospital can be and the impact it can have on society. A story is more likely to be remembered and retold – A friend will
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tell a friend who will also tell a friend A story opens the door to conversation and better two-way communications – Interested persons will reach out to chat and know more A story transfers knowledge and can change behavior – a person’s journey and experience can be another person’s lesson.
PHOTO | STOCK
With the wealth of stories Kenyatta National Hospital has, we tell them out to the public to drive positive conversations on our media channels. Moreover, in our work areas, we can inspire more positive stories by giving the best service to our patients. When a new patient comes to our hospital, they are neither committed nor engaged. The patient experience that follows especially during their first visit will determine if they become bonded with us and become “storytellers”, or if they opt to seek treatment elsewhere in the future. The entire experience our patients have with our staff, and even the physical hospital environment; it is best to understand that stories begin with the proper alignment of literally everything from the inside to the outward. Our brand has to be clearly understood, believed, and delivered by owners and staff of the practice just as much as you want it to be understood and embraced by the target audiences. We have the opportunity to be storytellers.
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Our story in pictures
PHOTO | NICHOLAS WAMALWA
Outgoing team of the DB scheme during the induction/farewell ceremony
PHOTO | NICHOLAS WAMALWA
Albert Ambune (Right), Winnie Mwangi, Gerge Okoo, Ruth Mbithe, Grace Akinyi the Incoming team of the DB Scheme during the Induction/Farewell ceremony
PHOTO | NICHOLAS WAMALWA
PHOTO |COURTESY
IPC champions and staff members all smiles during the closing ceremony of IPC week at KNH Othaya
KPCC 10D staff members during a two-day teambuilding event held at Ngong Hills
PHOTO | NICHOLAS WAMALWA
PHOTO | EDEL Q. MWENDE
IPC team demonstrating steps of hand hygiene to staff members at knh othaya
KNH receives a donation from Ranpara & group. and Kenex of 10 beds, 3 glucometers, 1 laryngoscope set, 3 ripple mattresses, 3 Oxygen flowmeters & 3 blood pressure monitors for ward 8B
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Celebrating the International Infection Prevention Week By Marian Moraa Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) Infection Prevention and Control (IPC)Unit has pledged to continue working round the clock in keeping healthcare workers, their families, and patients, safe from hospital-acquired infections. This was the unit’s pledge during celebrations to mark the International Infection Prevention Week, at a colorful ceremony held at Kenyatta National Hospital. This year’s theme is “Make Your Intention Infection Prevention”, with the goal being to highlight the science behind infection prevention and inspire the next generation to join the fight. This theme is a rallying call to all stakeholders including healthcare workers, patients, families, and policymakers to embrace a culture of ensuring safety during healthcare delivery and reduce the risk of harm due to unavoidable infections. KNH’s Chief Executive Officer Dr. Evanson Kamuri, EBS underscored the hospital’s commitment to ensuring the availability of infection prevention and control supplies at every point of care. “We have also collaborated with partners to ensure that handwashing stations are
available and accessible to all our visitors to the hospital,” said the CEO in a speech read on his behalf by Dr. John Kinuthia, Medical Research Deputy Director. “As healthcare providers, we all have a role to play to ensure we are practicing Infection Prevention and Control. Some strategies for preventing hospitalacquired infections include hand hygiene, environmental hygiene, screening patients, surveillance, antimicrobial stewardship, contact precautions, droplet precautions, airborne precautions, following guidelines, and
PHOTO | NICHOLAS WAMALWA IPC team demonstrating the 5 moments of hand hygiene to staff members during the launch of IPC week
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embracing a safety culture,” said Dr. Kamuri. He went on; “These strategies cut across all aspects of patient care and we have to understand the guidelines put in place and adhere to them…This calls for us all to be alert of the risks and the gaps that exist in our provision of services and make all efforts to reduce them.” Dr. Rosaline Kinuthia-Head of Unit IPC urged KNH staff and their clients to always adhere to the set precautions. “These practices should always be observed to ensure we are all protected. Patients and their families should also be keen to ensure their caregivers are IPC adherent while serving them” she says. During the celebrations, IPC champions were feted. The champions from Wards 10D emerged winners with those from Clinic 24, and Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) coming in second and third respectively. Ward 6C was also recognized as the most improved from their performance on the previous year. They were awarded trophies and certificates for their outstanding efforts in observing IPC precautions. Happy Infection Prevention Week- Make Your Intention Infection Prevention!
PHOTO | NICHOLAS WAMALWA Director KPCCDr. John Ngigi celebrates with staff from ward 10D who emerged as the trophy winners of the 2020/2021 hand hygiene adherence award
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Breast cancer, mastectomy, reconstruction and me “Diagnosed with something that attempts to strip away your dignity, your identity your femininity, but breast reconstruction restores all of that”
By Petterson Njogu and Yvonne Gichuru When Ms. Irene Wangui was diagnosed with stage IV breast cancer in April this year, doctors scheduled a mastectomy operation on her. Mastectomy refers to the process of removing one or both breasts, partially or completely to treat breast cancer. Wangui knew things were never going to be the same again after the procedure. Before the surgery, she had to undergo chemotherapy- a standard procedure treatment for cancer patients. In her third session, the latest scans showed that her cancer was now to stage II but that didn’t put mastectomy on hold, it meant cancer had not spread to other parts of the body. However, she had to go for her all six sessions of chemo to undergo the surgery. Battling through hair loss, the idea of mastectomy looming large can
take a toll on someone. “Going through this I’ve known what fear and uncertainty means, I cried long hours when I first lost my hair, and I was to lose another part of me in no time…a woman losing one of her breasts is one of the most terrifying experiences,” she says. Dr. Eric Ngahu, a Breast and General Surgeon consultant at KPCC says the procedure is not for everyone but believes women must have the option. “Good medical practice demands for any patient who undergoes breast removal procedure, to be given reconstruction options right away, this information should be given to them early on,” he says. The patient should be able to choose whether to opt for reconstruction now, later or not to altogether”, said Dr. Ngahu. Majority of women dread undergoing breast removal surgery because they tend to suffer from depression, stigmatization in the community, and low selfesteem as a result of a
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mastectomy. “These women are not aware that reconstruction surgery can be performed immediately after mastectomy,” says Dr. Fred Nango’le, Breast and Plastic Surgery consultant -KPCC. The surgery, he states, involves getting some tissues from the abdomen, women usually get a concurrent tummy tuck in the end. Case in point- Ms. Wangui
PHOTO | KEN NDUNG’U Ms. Irene Wangui; KNH Nurse & Cancer survivor with the team of nurses from Ward 10D
Ms. Irene Wangui; KNH Nurse (Clinic 41) & Cancer survivor.
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underwent both procedures concurrently, this is not only cheaper but also reduces the patient’s psychological trauma of going to the theatre once instead of two times. She couldn’t also hide the joy of having a flat tummy. After the surgery, Wangui narrated that all the fear and anxiety she had had before walking that room had all gone away after realizing nothing was taken away from her. “I felt whole, complete woman, very happy to know I won’t be having a flat chest,” she said cheerfully. According to the Ministry of Health, breast cancer is the leading type of cancer in the country with about 6,000 cases every year, and despite campaigns promoting reconstruction procedures, data indicates that a lot of women still opt-out. Ms. Wangui’s call to women anticipating the procedure is that it is doable and one’s dignity and joy are not lost in the process; actually, it is restored. “You are diagnosed with something that attempts to strip away your identity, your femininity but breast reconstruction restores all of them” concludes Wangui. “KPCC has the qualified personnel, equipment, and amenities to carry out these
procedures, given October is the cancer awareness month we want people out there to know that all these procedures can be done locally, and Irene’s journey and her process is a huge testament to that commitment.” Said Doris Kimbui, KPCC Nursing, and Clinical Services manager. Shortly after this interview, Ms Wangui was being prepped for discharge after a 10-day stay at the hospital. She will be going home not only joyful but feeling ‘whole again’.
Dr. Eric Hungu - General and Breast Surgeon
OUR VISION A world class patient-centered specialized care hospital OUR MISSION To optimize patient experience through innovative healthcare; facilitate training and research; and participate in national health policy formulation OUR MOTTO We Listen, We Care
ISO 15189 ACCREDITED
✓
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(L to R) Nurses Victor Nyaberi, Agnes Chebet, Joan Maende & Rose Njera (team leader) from Ward 10D during the Newsline interview. PHOTO | KEN NDUNG’U
Inspirational Quotes “Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.” - William James “Believe you can and you’re halfway there.” – Theodore Roosevelt “Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.” - Albert Einstein “You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.” - C.S. Lewis “It is never too late to be what you might have been.” – George Eliot “Some people look for a beautiful place. Others make a place beautiful.” – Hazrat Inayat Khan “We must be willing to let go of the life we planned to have the life that is waiting for us.” - Joseph Campbell “Happiness is not by chance, but by choice.”- Jim Rohn “If I cannot do great things, I can do small things in a great way.”- Martin Luther King, Jr.
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