A teenager in Kisumu has narrated how she bravely fought and won the war against cancer.
17-year-old Winnie Odhiambo said that trouble started in 2013 when she started feeling itchy at a section of her head.
She started scratching her head, which led to her hair and skin coming off. All this time, she did not disclose to her father what she was going through.
“One day, I developed a boil like swelling on my head. After few days, the swelling bust leading to a wound. That is when I decided to inform my father”, said Ms Odhiambo in an exclusive interview on Tuesday.
“I was in Standard eight by then. We went for tests at the Aga Khan hospital. That is when it was discovered to be cancer, brain tumor to be precise,” said Ms Odhiambo.
The form three student at Lions High School noted that after the discovery, they went to the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital and Mediven Hospital in Eldoret to seek treatment.
“Further tests were done and that is when I was told by doctors at Mediven to come back home and wait for my death,” she said.
Winnie was later admitted and operated on at the St Luke Hospital to remove the tumor, but it grew again.
Her parents decided to take her to Kisumu Hospice, within the Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital (Russia).
“I came to Kisumu Hospice in a bad state. I could not even walk. I was put on chemotherapy and that is when I started feeling better. As I received medication, the better I became. It reached a point where I was stable to be able to walk to the hospital alone,” she divulged.
By August 2014, she was through with all stages of medication. She is now cured. She went back to standard seven, continued with her education and sat for her KCPE exams in 2015.
“Initially, I thought that cancer is a disease for old people. I urge all cancer patients to visit hospitals because the disease can be cured,” she concluded.
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