Breast cancer awareness month
Imagine coming out of the bathroom, looking at yourself and discovering a slight discoloration around your breast area or feeling a lump? This is very scary especially if you are young. Luckily if discovered early, breast cancer can be treated and you will live a long healthy life.
October is the breast cancer awareness month. This is when companies and individuals take extra steps to protect themselves against the deadly disease.
Breast cancer is a malignant tumor (a collection of cancer cells) arising from the cells of the breast. The causes are not really known but a number of factors have been identified. It can be diagnosed with physician and self-examination of the breasts, mammography, ultrasound testing, and biopsy.
Breast cancer can affect both male and female genders and some causing factors include, age, family history, breast tissue and exposure to previous chest radiation.
In 2016, in Kenya, cancer is the third most common cause of death with breast cancer contributing to 23.3 % of cancer deaths, cervical cancer 20% and prostate cancer 9.4%. Cancer is estimated to be responsible for 7% of the total annual deaths in Kenya.
Although all leading hospitals offer breast cancer screening at a fee, below are the hospitals in Nairobi offering discount for this breast cancer month cancer
The Mater Hospital: Mammography is now kshs 2,450 down from 4,850, breast ultra sound kshs 2,950 down from kshs 6,900, pap smear kshs 1,500 down from kshs 2156.
MP Shah Hospital: They are offering free breast exams and mammography, breast ultrasound and pap smear have a 50% discount. They say mammography are for women above 35 years of age while the breast ultra sound are for ages below 35.
You can also test yourself at home regularly by following the steps below.
Source:
https://informationcradle.com/kenya/directory/breast-cancer-in-kenya/