In normal circumstances the noise from children playing outside a house intensively heightens into musical beats to the people around. But to Kupha Mwaruwa Mwanyanje, coiled on a cushion vinyl flooring (mkeka wa mbao) in a tiny seating room in a Swahili house at Msikiti Punda area in Likoni, the belting sound of her children is pricking more pain into her weak body.
The 31-year-old, mother of three, is pain-throbbed all the time, and for two years now has been forced to stay in house staring at nothing, hopping that one-day help will come her way to relieve the piecing pains in her body.
She always depend on assistance from well-wishers to get medication for her breast cancer that is now threatening to snap off her dear body.
Mwanyanje who comes from Msikiti Punda village in Timbwani ward, Likoni sub-county, recounts that a lump that started growing on her left breast back in November 2024, which she thought was a normal boil that would later heal, has since become a nightmare to her health.
She explained that the persistence of the pain from the boil prompted her to seek medical attention to ascertain what was wrong.
She first sought medical attention at Premier hospital, Msambweni Sub-county hospital in Kwale and later Coast General Teaching and Referral Hospital where a couple of tests were done, including X-ray, ultra sound and biopsy. The biopsy was done by draining some fluid from the affected area that indicated traces of cancer.
While seeking further medical attention at Bayleaf hospital, a private facility in Majengo Mombasa another test was conducted whereby a tissue was taken from the growth for a further examination and the result confirmed she had stage three cancer.
“The confirmation of three cancers did not kill my hope of living but instead strengthened my trust in God that one day He will extend His hand and have me healed” she said.
Her former boss where she worked as a househelp and family did not let her down in the journey to have her healed, she says, adding that a referral to Coast General hospital for an operation in April this year was executed successfully after the family members and friends supported her medical procedure.
However, it’s two months now since then and the tumor has again resurfaced with severe pain. She has not been able to take the sample taken from the surgery to Agakhan hospital as was advised to redo the tests to determine the progress of her condition due to financial constraints.
“I was referred to Coast General hospital for surgery which was successful conducted in April this year. But since then the tumor has come back and it is more painful. The right side of my body is almost paralyzed,” Mwanyanje narrated.
To add to her misery, the new tests have revealed that the condition has worsened with the cancer spreading to the blood cells, prompting her to undergo a series of chemotherapies to reverse the condition.
Mwanyanje also highlights how the expensive cancer treatment has deprived her the opportunity to fend for her three children. She has been forced to stop from reporting back to work since her right part of the body had become dysfunctional.
“I can no longer go back to work because my right part of the body is dysfunctional. My mouth is turning, my 60-year-old mother who earns peanuts from a local hotel (kibanda) has since become our sole breadwinner,” Mwanyanje says.
The single mother of three says her three children were yet to report to due to school fees.
“My three children are at home because I’m not able to pay school fees. I am also unable to provide basic needs like food for them. They were staying with my mother in Mazeras while learning at Kajiwe primary school in grade 3 and 4. My mother was forced to come to Mombasa to take care of me when my condition worsened. I’ve not been able to take them to another school due to my distressing situation.,” She said.
Consequently, the sickly woman is pleading with well-wishers to come to her rescue and help her to undergo further treatment which she cannot afford on her own.
“I am appealing for help from well-wishers to come to my rescue and help my children return to school. It pains me to see them drop out of school at this age” Mwanyanje pleaded.
Further, Mwanyanje called upon the government to bring cancer treatment equipment and specialists closer to the people so that patients could easily access treatment.
Any help to the family could be channeled through Kupha Mwaruwa Mwanyanje, Mobile Number. 0790285614.