What my father's fight with cancer of the bile ducts has taught me

My father, Henry Magu Ngugi, died June 3 of a bile duct cancer.

He started last December when he complained of stomachaches and vomited incessantly. It was itching everywhere and lost a lot of weight. The yellow eyes became his signature …

He went in and out of the hospital for tests that did not give a good diagnosis.

Her situation deteriorated in January and health workers at the Kirwara Health Center in Gatanga, Murang. a county referred him to the Thika Level Five hospital.

Later that month, he was referred to a gastrointestinal surgeon in Nairobi, who recommended an endoscopic ultrasound. According to Dr. Miriti Kiraitu, who diagnosed and treated my father and pancreatic cancer, bile duct cancer is often diagnosed at an advanced stage when therapeutic options

In addition, the commonly used ultrasound is not used. is not recommended for diagnosis; The CT scan or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) works better.

However, hospitals in the area where my father started to seek treatment do not have this material. They also lack endoscopic ultrasound and other endoscopic devices that would accelerate the diagnosis and treatment of gastrointestinal cancers of the esophagus, colon, pancreas and pancreatitis. Biliary. And because these last two respond poorly to treatment, it would be better if they are detected early enough to be taken care of.

After Stage III, they are life-threatening diseases with a survival rate of less than 5%

. Retrograde Endoscopic Cholangiopancreatography (ERCP), a procedure that uses endoscopy and X-rays to visualize the patient's biliary and pancreatic tract

After that, doctors can either restore the flow of bile by opening the collapsed cbad by cancer or re-route Cancer would not respond to chemotherapy or radiotherapy, but biliary drainage would relieve symptoms.

After the diagnosis, my father was admitted to Kenyatta National Referral Hospital, where he was hospitalized. has undergone biliary drainage. It costs Sh400,000 without NHIF coverage.

The doctor unblocked his ducts and placed artificial drainage pipes called stents. He recovered for two weeks, and then he was discharged with advice that the only measure of mitigation was to eat healthy (less red meat and more vegetables) to control the growth of cancer.

He also needed regular checkups for the artificial bile duct, to make sure the bile flowed without obstruction. The plastic duct had to be replaced every three months, but a metal duct would have lasted at least a year before replacement.

In May, when my dad went to the hospital to have the stent replaced, we decided that there was one. However, when he was brought back to the theater hall after the procedure, the doctors told us that they could not place the metal stent because my father had an infection.

They had placed a plastic stent because it was better in the control of infections. It would be examined in a month, then if possible, the metal stent would be put in place. We were devastated, but my father was the most affected. He did not want to go to the theater anymore

He told us: "I will not go back to the theater, at 76, God has given me a bonus over the 70 years that it gives us to live. I will not be coming back. "

One week after his leave, his father fell ill and was pronounced dead on his arrival at Kirwara Hospital in Gatanga, marking the end of his short battle with cancer [19659004] Mr. Magu is a freelance health journalist who advocates for other tools in public health settings to fight cancer in its infancy.