Cancer Surgery in Kenya

Cancer is a significant cause of death all over the world. If you are diagnosed with cancer, it makes you anxious to think about cancer surgery in Kenya. Mostly one-third of cancer deaths are from tobacco, obesity, alcohol consumption, not taking a balanced diet, and lack of exercise. In Kenya, Cancers can be cured if detected early. However, patients with cancer and healthcare providers in Kenya think that cancer surgery cost in Kenya is significantly very high.

Sometimes, cancer means several groups of diseases that can affect any part of your body. Unfortunately, there are barriers to testing and diagnosis services for all types of cancers due to the increased cancer cost of surgery in Kenya.

In Kenya, patients covered under NHIF (insurance) get treatment for cancer as compared with no insurance scheme. 57% are women, while 43% are men who died in Kenya from cancer diseases. The survival rates improved drastically in Kenya for different types of cancer, thanks to the development and latest technological advancement used in screening, treatment, and prevention in cancer surgery in Kenya.

Cancer Surgery Cost in Kenya

The average cancer surgery treatment cost in Kenya is $4,000 depending upon the surgery and choice of hospital, doctors, and at what stage cancer progresses in your body. Therefore, the cancer surgery cost in Kenya ranges from USD 2000 to USD 7000 for different treatments and surgeries.

Cancer Surgery Cost in Kenya Cities

The average cancer surgery cost in Kenya cities in Nairobi, Mombasa, Nakuru, Eldoret, and Kisumu is Ksh 420,000, Ksh 449,400, Ksh 485,352, Ksh 538,741, Ksh 603,390, respectively.

NHIF Cost Coverage for Cancer Surgery in Kenya

NHIF in Kenya provides insurance facilities for all types of cancer. The cost coverage starts at Sh 5 million for a foreign hospital in India. The cost coverage may also increase with Sh350 – Sh1,800 based on the yearly income of members. Presently military and public service are eligible for this facility.

What is Cancer Surgery?

The branch of cancer surgery applied to oncology is known as cancer surgery or surgical oncology. The main goal is the surgical management of tumors, particularly cancerous tumors.

It is the foremost foundation for cancer treatment. Surgery is an operation performed on your body to diagnose or cure cancer.

What are the Causes of Cancer?

The common reasons are:

1. Certain Chemicals: Exposure to a specific substance like certain chemicals called carcinogenic like tobacco smoke, causes lung cancer.
2. Diet and exercise: Specific diet linked to some cancers. For instance, a high salt diet causes gastric cancer, and physical inactivity leads to obesity and contributes to cancer.
3. Infection: Infectious diseases like viruses and certain bacteria also cause cancer. For example, human papillomavirus causes cervical cancer, and Helicobacter pylori cause gastric carcinoma cancer in the body.
4. Radiation: Continued exposure to ultraviolet rays from the sun can lead to melanoma cancer and other skin malignancies.
5. Hereditary: Hereditary cancers are primarily caused by an inherited genetic defect in the body. E.g., The chances of having breast cancer are from the relative risk high for first-degree relation having developed it at 50 years of age.
6. Physical Agents: Some physical substances can cause cancer, like prolonged exposure to asbestos to give mesothelioma cancer.
7. Hormones: Few hormones also cause cell proliferation. E.g., thyroid cancer.

Different Surgical Oncology Types and Forms

There are some of the factors one might undergo cancer surgery include:

-Diagnosis or Diagnostic surgery: A biopsy identifies different types of cancer. Examples of other biopsies are fine needle aspiration and image-guided biopsies, which help in classes and stages of cancer. In addition, it helps determine whether the growth is cancerous (malignant) or noncancerous (benign). Skull Base Surgery treatment cost in Kenya is $5,934; in Nairobi, its charges are Ksh 712,039.

-Staging: Staging surgery is performed to view the tumor size and how far it has spread in the body. As imaging scans get more advanced, they help in staging imaging studies like ultrasounds, CT scans, MRIs, X-rays, and Laparoscopy. The cost of HIFU in Kenya is $3,268 in Nairobi, and its minimum fee is Ksh 392,137.

The High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound for prostate cancer cost in Kenya is $3,182, whereas, in Nairobi, it is around Ksh 381,818. Likewise, Kidney cancer treatment cost in Kenya is $4,128, and in Nairobi, its charges are Ksh 495,331. Finally, the brain cancer treatment cost in Kenya is $5,590, while in Nairobi, it is around Ksh 670,761.

-Curative Surgery or Primary Treatment: Cancer surgery is the best cure for many tumors, specifically if the cancer is confined and does not spread. The treatment removes the cancerous tumor or growth in the body.

The surgical oncology cost in Kenya is $4,558; in Nairobi, it is around Ksh 546,928. The Medical oncology cost in Kenya is $2,752, while in Nairobi, its minimum price is Ksh 330,221. Bone cancer treatment cost in Kenya is $3,698, and fees for bone cancer treatment in Nairobi are Ksh 443,734. Liver cancer treatment costs in Kenya are $4,214; in Nairobi, its minimum charges are Ksh 505,651.

-Debulking: Debulking is surgery it removes not all parts but a specific part of the tumor. Cancer treatments like chemotherapy and radiation therapy are performed before or after this type of surgery. It helps in the shrinking of the tumor and curing cancer.

The Fractionated Stereotactic Radiation Therapy price in Kenya is $5,762 and in minimum cost in Nairobi is approx. Ksh 691,400.

Image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT) and Intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) average costs in Kenya are $5,418 and $5,762, respectively, while in Nairobi, the minimum charges are Ksh 650,122 and Ksh 691,400. Malignancy Surgery cost in Kenya is $3,698, and in Nairobi, it is Ksh 443,734.

-Relieving Symptoms or Side Effects: The surgery improves pain caused by tumors rather than treating cancer.

-Brachytherapy: A type of radiation therapy for prostate cancer. Brachytherapy for prostate cancer costs in Kenya $3,354. In Nairobi, the treatment of brachytherapy prostate cancer price is Ksh 402,457.

-Palliative Surgery: Surgery to treat cancer of advanced stages. This surgery does not work on curing cancer, but it lessens the discomfort or resurrects other problems of cancer treatment may have caused.

The treatment for Stomach cancer surgery cost in Kenya is $6,450, and in Nairobi, it is around Ksh 773,955. The palliative treatment for liver cancer is chemoembolization. The average price of chemoembolization in Kenya is $2,580, and the minimum charge in Nairobi is Ksh 309,582.

-Supportive Surgery: It helps other cancer treatments work effectively adjacent to palliative surgery that does not treat cancer. An example is the catheter insertion to help in chemotherapy.

The average cost for chemotherapy in Kenya is  $1,290; in Nairobi, its charges are Ksh 154,791. Stomach cancer surgery cost in Kenya is $6,450, and in Nairobi, it is around Ksh 773,955.

-Reconstructive Surgery or Restorative Surgery: Surgery is sometimes used as a continuation of curative or other surgeries to modify or restore a patient appearance or the malformed body part. For example, breast cancer surgery occasionally needs breast reconstruction surgery.

Breast cancer treatment cost in Kenya is $4,128, while in Nairobi, it is Ksh 495,331. The treatment of Esophagus cancer in Kenya costs $4,386; in Nairobi, the treatment price is Ksh 526,289. The Head & Neck Oncology cost in Kenya is $2,752, and in Nairobi, its charge is Ksh 330,221.

-Preventive or (prophylactic) surgery: The preventive surgery eliminates tissue that does not have cancer cells but may form a malignant tumor. For example, with polyps in the colon, the doctor may remove your colon and rectum by surgery as it has a high risk of developing colon cancer. The cost of colon cancer (CRC) treatment in Kenya is $3,268; in Nairobi, the treatment price is Ksh 392,137.

-Cryosurgery: This surgery technique uses freezing temperatures to kill abnormal cancer cells, e.g., skin cancer and cervical cancer. It is a surgical application of cryoablation.

The cryosurgery for cervical cancer treatment average cost in Kenya is $4,300, and however, in Nairobi, it is around Ksh 515,970. On the other hand, the cost of ovarian cancer treatment in Kenya is $3,956 and in Nairobi minimum charge for cryosurgery is Ksh 474,692.

The uterine cancer treatment average cost in Kenya is $4,214. Therefore, the minimum charge for uterine cancer treatment in Nairobi is Ksh 505,651.

-Laser Surgery: This surgical technique uses beams of light energy in place of instruments to remove small cancers without harming nearby tissue. It helps in shrinking the tumors and eliminating cancer cells. It is a precise technique that can treat the areas of the body that are not easy to reach, like the skin, cervix, rectum, and larynx.

The Green Light Laser PVP Surgery cost in Kenya is $5,332, while in Nairobi minimum cost is Ksh 639,803.  

-Electrosurgery: Electrosurgery is where skin cancer and oral cancer are cured, sometimes cured with electrosurgery. It uses electrical current to destroy cancer cells.

The oral cancer treatment cost in Kenya is $2,924; in Nairobi, its minimum price is Ksh 350,860.

-Microscopically Controlled Surgery: It is helpful when cancer cells affect delicate parts of the body, for example, the eye. Various layers of skin are separated and studied microscopically until cancerous cells cannot be seen.

-Minimally Invasive Parathyroid Surgery: Surgery to remove parathyroid glands and treat patients with hyperparathyroidism.  

-Whipple Procedure or Pancreaticoduodenectomy: A complex procedure to remove the tumor, the head of the pancreas. The topmost part of the small intestine (duodenum), the gallbladder, and the bile duct of the body.

The average cost of a Whipple procedure in Kenya is $4,128, and in Nairobi, its minimum price is around Ksh 495,331. Pancreatic cancer treatment cost in Kenya is $4,214; in Nairobi, its charges are Ksh 505,651.

-CyberKnife:  It is a system is a radiation therapy used to deliver the treatment of benign, malignant tumors, and other medical conditions.

The average cost of Cyberknife in Kenya is $4,988; in Nairobi, its charge is Ksh 598,525. The average cost of a cyberknife for prostate cancer in Kenya is $4,816; in Nairobi, its price is Ksh 577,886.

-Mohs Surgery: Mohs surgery, or microscopically controlled surgery and treats skin cancer. One thin layer of the cancer is taken out at a time and looked at the microscope, and again taking, out the layers until it looks normal.

-Endoscopy: In Endoscopy, we look at tissue inside the organs, like your colon, bladder, or anywhere in the body. A small flexible tube fitted with a light and a camera on the tip. This tube is inside the body via your mouth, nose, and other openings. or can be used to take tissue samples. Bladder cancer treatment cost in Kenya is $3,870; in Nairobi, bladder cancer treatment price is Ksh 464,373.

-Robotic Surgery: In robotic surgery, the surgeon sits far from the operating table and views the monitor that projects a 3-D image of the surgery area. The surgeon uses hand controls and gives instructions to the robot on how to move surgical tools to perform the surgery. Prostate cancer treatment cost in Kenya is $4,558; in Nairobi, robotic prostate cancer surgery’s minimum charge is Ksh 546,928.

-Thoracoscopic Surgery: Thoracoscopy is a surgical procedure used by surgeons to see the inner side of the chest and the outer side of the lungs. This surgery operated with a tiny, flexible tube with a light and a small video camera on the end fit. It is used sometimes as part of a VATS (video-assisted thoracic surgery) process. The average cost of lung cancer in Kenya is $4,042, whereas, in Nairobi, its price is about Ksh 485,012.

What is the Preparation for Cancer Surgery in Kenya?

Before surgery:

The patient must undergo these tests and examinations before surgery, such as Chest x-ray, Blood tests, and an Electrocardiogram (ECG). Before surgery, patients would not allow anything to eat during these surgery tests.

During Surgery:

When a patient is under anesthesia, the surgeon will remove cancer and some nearby tissues. Healthy tissue is taken off to safeguard that cancer has been removed entirely. Occasionally, a surgeon may take out lymph nodes around the tumor.

After Surgery:

Several time follow-ups and check-ups are needed after the surgery. For complex surgeries, the patient must visit the doctor more frequently for any infection around the surgery site. Doctors recommend special diets, activities, wound healing, and recovery, to control it in case of any signs of infection.

Side Effects of Cancer Surgery

• Pain after surgery
• Tiredness after surgery
• Poor appetite
• Swelling after surgery
• Infection in the surgery area
• Bruising around the surgery site
• Wound bleeding
• cramping or constipation after eating

Cancer Surgery Reviews in Kenya

• Kenya provides successful cancer treatments.
• Patients can have improved ways for several cancer. If the treatment is more complex, Kenya’s hospitals have branches in India to offer cancer treatment for Kenya’s citizens.
• You can contact Expertchikitsa for a second opinion and customized quotes for surgical oncology from cancer specialists.
• Kenya offers affordable cost and insurance coverage for all types of cancers for eligible patients.

Cancer Surgery Success Rate in Kenya

Commonly, people experience cancers in Kenya, such as breast, esophageal, cervical, prostate, and colorectal cancer. Around 98% of cancers are treated successfully in Kenya. But majorly Kenyan patients prefer to travel to India in complex conditions to get advanced treatments.

Oncology in Kenya

Cancer Care Kenya Nairobi has 58 oncologists, 12 oncology pharmacists, and 60 oncology nurses. Highly qualified and skilled surgeons with high-end treatment protocols manage cancer cases in Kenya and India.

Cancer Centers in Kenya

Kenya has recently launched an ultra-modern cancer center. Kenyans are welcome to provide state-of-the-art cancer facilities. Kenyans can have an early cancer diagnosis and have initial stages of treatment, but patients must visit India for the advanced stage of cancer to seek the best treatments. Please contact us to find the best cancer specialist in India.

Summary of Cancer Surgery in Kenya

Around 74 Kenyans lost their lives every day from cancer. Three out of every five people in Kenya are women who lost their lives from cancer. Cancer surgery cure only the part of your body that has cancer. It means you cannot do surgery on blood cancers like leukemia or other cancers that have already spread in your body. At times in cancer, surgery will be the only treatment left. Cancer rises significantly with age and lifestyle changes in the developing world.

FAQs of Cancer Surgery in Kenya

How many types of cancers are found in Kenya?

-These are blood cancer, cervical, prostate, pancreatic, throat, breast, lung skin, colon, etc.

Does cancer surgery remove all cancer from the body?

-Curative or primary surgery is generally done and can most likely destroy all cancer.

Does cancer increase after surgery?

-It’s very rare in surgery that can cause cancer to grow and expand in your body.

What are the chances of successful cancer surgery?

-The most effective procedure is surgery, which completely removes cancer at the early or the starting stage.

What is the recovery time from cancer surgery?

-Depending upon the surgery, whether it is minor or major and takes a few days or a week to recover from minor surgery, but in major surgery, it takes a few months.