Leonida is jovial and speaks in her native language as she sits with the local Watsi rep to share her story. Her daughter acts as a translator as she narrates her story. Leonida was recently diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer. She needs a mastectomy surgery and later chemo to get rid of the cancerous cells.
In October 2020, Leonida started feeling a painless lump on her left breast. It was not alarming at the time, and she never took it seriously. After several months, the lump grew in size and started developing pain. She visited a local clinic in their hometown in Siaya, Western Kenya. She was being treated with pain medication and ointments. Later, in October this year, she opted to visit her daughter in the city of Nairobi and seek further medical attention. She went to a facility where they had a biopsy and CT scan which revealed cancer. She was referred for surgery. She opted to come to our medical partner’s care center Kijabe Hospital for surgery.
Leonida is a mother of five who are all adults. Although supportive, her children do not have stable jobs to fund for the surgery. Her government mandated national health insurance medical cover is not active and takes many months to become available. Her surgery is urgent and cannot wait for the coverage to come in, if at all. She is a small-scale farmer without a source of income and relies on her kids for food and medical expenses. She shared that she lost her husband in 2004, so making ends meet can be difficult.
Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation, is requesting $1110 to cover the cost of a mastectomy for Leonida. The procedure is scheduled to take place on November 22nd. After treatment, Leonida will hopefully return to a cancer-free life.
Leonida says, “I am old now and weak. This cancer is threatening my life and therefore need this treatment to fight it.”