By Reporter
Two-A two-and-a-half-year old infant in Kilifi County urgently requires Sh10 million to undergo a special radiothehrapy at the Apollo Cancer Centre in India to treat a recurrent cancerous brain tumor.
Janelle Marsai suffers from a high risk large cell anaplastic variant medulablastoma and needs to undergo proton beam radiotherapy with concurrent chemotherapy, procedures that are not available in Africa.
Janelle has already undergone two surgeries (craniotomy) at the Kenyatta National Hospital where she also underwent six cycles of chemotherapy and doctors opine that she should be subjected to the proton beam radiation therapy within one month after the second surgery that was done on May 9, 2024.
Her mother, Dhahabu Gunga, who is a nurse at the Kilifi County Referral Hopital, says she has exhausted all family resources and her health insurance limit, and that she had to take a bank loan for her child’s treatment, which has cost her, her family and friend more than Sh3 million.
“As a Kilifi County Government employee, I am insured with Britam where I have a limit of Sh2 million, but the company only paid Sh400,000, the disease my child is suffering from is chronic,” she said.
She said she had sought help from various organizations, including her employer through the Deputy Governor, but she ws still waiting for a response.
Apollo Cancer Centre has quoted US Dollars 69,900 (about Sh9.2 million), 80 percent of which must be paid before commencement of treament. The quotation is valid for only one month from May 21, 2024. She also has to meet her own travel costs.
She appealed to well wishers to come to her aid, since the child’s fathers’ side was not co-operative with her and that she had been left to meet the medical costs with her family and friends.
Ms Gunga can be contacted through Cell Phone Number +254 0701333729. She has also opened a Paybill Number 400200, Account Number 847019, Account Name Dhahabu Gunga.
