A Trailblazer In Her Field, Dr. Nyongesa Has Hope On Breakthrough For Cancer Treatment
“I wear many hats. An entrepreneur, a wife, and a doctor. Currently I run the Texas Cancer Center in Nairobi whilst also in public service as the Head of Cancer Unit at the Kenyatta National Hospital,” she says
As we sit down for this interview, what strikes the most is that no situation is permanent and indeed where there is a will, there is also a way.
Hailing from a humble background in Kenya’s Western region, Dr. Catherine Nyongesa has braved the waves to become the first acclaimed Radiation Oncologist in Kenya and now is the co-founder of the Texas Cancer Center.
Founded in 2010, the Cancer Center was borne to address the serious need for additional cancer services in the region.
It is not lost the motivation for this was a her personal story—seeing her younger sister suffering from uterine cancer while still in medical school at the University of Nairobi.
Over the years, the hospital has grown in leaps and bounds cultivating Dr. Nyongesa’s reputation for empathy with nothing being hidden of her for being known to waive even the doctor’s consultancy fees and going even further to subsidize the cost of treatment and medicines for patients in need.
An advocate of palliative care and pain management she says this is the best possible way in moving to reduce the level of suffering in patients allaying fears on use of morphine in care.
“Those fears are unfounded. Morphine is a safe drug. And if you can even just have morphine syrup accessible to most county-level hospitals, or ideally all hospitals in Kenya, it will go along way in the primary care of the disease,” said Dr. Nyongesa.
As a doctor, she is a firm believer in respecting others – rich or poor, big or small. She also believes that as a doctor, she has to be available whenever she is needed.
