 Thank you so much for tuning in today on this particular morning conversation right here on Y254 TV. Thank you for sticking with us. This is your number one youth station Y254. We are coming to you live from the broadcasting house here in Nairobi Kenya. We are also streaming this show live through our website. That is www.kebc.co.ke-y254. My name is Ram Aguko and this is Power Talk. It's a pleasure being with you on this fine Thursday morning. I repeat of this show as again every Thursday at 10pm Kenyan time. Hope that you will stick around for that repeat again tonight right here on Power Talk. As always it is a pleasure being with you. Today let's talk about women empowerment. Today let's talk about youth empowerment. Today this particular individual just intrigues me by her story because this is her story. Today let's talk about how she survived cervical cancer. Is it possible? I know there are many people who get to worry how will I survive this? Is it possible? Once I get diagnosed with cancer, is it a death sentence? Ladies and gentlemen as you've seen on your screens, I'm introducing Millicent Kagonga. She is the founder of the symbol of hope warriors and a cervical cancer survivor. This is her story. Can we start Millicent? Thank you. Hope that you are feeling energetic today. Of course I'm feeling energetic and I'm so strong and looking forward for encouraging especially young youth outside there. Thank you so much for coming. I really appreciate it. I know we have been planning this for a very long time but I appreciate your presence here. And of course I also appreciate you watching us from home. Surviving cervical cancer is the discussion that we are having today. I'd like to encourage you to join in on this discussion. Go to our Facebook page. The hashtag as always is Y in the morning on Twitter at Ram Maguko which is my handle. Follow me on all social media platforms and at Y254 channel which is the official station handle. Now head over to our Facebook page. But before you do that like the page and then you scroll down you'll see our post there on our Facebook page. Like the page and then drop in your comments on the comment section below. Feel free to let us know where you are watching us from. This is Power Talk and Power Talk starts now. Thank you so much Melisand for coming as I said earlier on. Let me start from the beginning. How was it that you got to that point when you decided to go get tested and then the results came out? Give me the journey from the beginning and how it started to the point that you now got that doctor's report. Wow. That's a good question. I love that question. My journey before I got to the doctor it took a time and I normally love to start where it really started. When I was 14 I got my first born. When I was 16 I got my second born. When I was 20 I got my third born. Wait, wait, wait. Hold the coffee. What? Yes. The reason why I normally start there is one of the risks of someone getting cervical cancer. It's getting a child at early age or being a sexual activist at a younger age. For women? Yes. There is a story behind whereby I wouldn't love to talk about it but in short that's how I get my three children at the age of 20. But at the age of 20 it was in the year 2010. It's the same way I lost my second born at the age of four. I also lost my marriage because of the signs and symptoms of cervical cancer. That is 2010? That is 2010. Did you lost your marriage and your second born? And my second born. Who was four years old? Yes. Paulesana. Thank you. So the reason why I lost my marriage is because of the abnormal discharge that I used to have animation and a lot of mint that there is outside there. So I kept quiet for almost five years until I saw someone lady talking on a television about signs and symptoms of cervical cancer. This was after 2010 or before 2010? After 2010. So 2010 is the year I lost my marriage but I kept quiet for five years until 2015. So in this period I was having the abnormal discharge and it became heavier, heavier and heavier to handle. If I would have to use sanitary towels, one sanitary towel can only handle like anawa and the sanitary is full. But since I was living in Korogoja Slam, I wasn't able to afford the sanitary towels. So I was using the rags to take off the discharge. And the discharge was daily, every time when I was sleeping, when I was standing, when I was walking. So the discharge was like abnormal. So did you have, when you say you were quiet for five years, what exactly do you mean? You didn't have anyone to talk to? I'm trying to get that part of this discussion. Someone was there to talk to but they advised from the person. You see I needed someone at first not to judge me, at second to give me the right direction. So I was looking for people to tell them but indirectly. Like the way we used to say you want to pass a message but you don't want them to know it's you who is going through the challenge. So I used to tell them I have a friend who is having this and this and this and they used to tell me that is like a witchcraft. That is like this one, that is like a cave. They would tell you it's witchcraft? Yes, yes. And I remember there is this lady who told me tell that lady to go for prayers because she has wronged the Lord. So I felt like not comfortable to tell someone it's me. The problem with people is that it's exactly that. Yes. We are too judgy. And it's even once when someone knows your background and someone knows you and then they start telling you know what, I know you have gone through this, you have gone through that so you need to repent. And mostly in the community you see I lived in Korogosho and Korogosho is the slum where we were so poor. And by then we believed that if you are poor you can't have this chronicle illness. So and now I know better because for those who call themselves poor they didn't had time to go to the hospital. And why they are saying this is the richer people sickness. It's because if you had money you were able to go to the hospital and get the diagnosis. So if the poor lost their loved ones they normally say it's a witchcraft. Someone be witch-trip. But for this person who had some money to go to the hospital they know the diagnosis. Their loved ones died because of cancer. They believe that cancer is a rich man's disease. Yes, by then. But now I have been able to change their mindset, most of them. Do you think that still there, that judge mindset, that poor man's mindset, do you think that is still there? Maybe from the provinces, from the villages maybe there but where I am living I have been able to create more awareness about it. And even we have been able to stop the stigma where I live. It must have been a very difficult time for those five good years. Yes. How was it trying to cope up? It was difficult. I felt like I am neglected and nobody loved me. And since I got my first born at young age and I have just lost a child and I am having this abnormal discharge or abnormal situation that I cannot speak outside there. And the few people that I am trying to tell them they are telling me, they are telling me like I call it like satanic words. Satanic words? Yes, those are satanic words. What are they saying? How can you tell someone you are sick because it is akin from God? Or you are sick because you have been bewitched? Or you are sick because you have wronged someone and that is a punishment? Rather than telling the person you need to go to the hospital? Did you go to the spiritual leader, the pastor? Yes. It must have been pushing you to go to for prayers? I did. I went for prayers. I went for fasting. I went for fasting even three weeks. I did my best. I prayed. Even some few friends that were close to me by then they saw me praying. I prayed a lot but I ended up going to the hospital. I still believe in God. I am not a genist. God I still believe in God and I still believe in miracles. But sometimes you just need to take a step. Sometimes you need to not be ignorant and take that bold step and go get checked out. Yes. That is the challenges that make us like in Kenya the statistic says that we are losing more than nine women to cervical cancer per day. So that is the reason why we are losing more women because some women if I can tell you, if you come to me and tell me my friend is having this science and it's yourself going through those science and then I tell you it's your bewitch. We will end up going for prayers and then doing a lot of things. But the thing you need to do is to go to the hospital and get checked. Get checked? Yes. When you are going for spiritual attention for prayers because you said you are a believer. You believe in God. Yes. What was the response of these men of God that were praying and talking to you, now going to church and you interacting with, let's say for example a bishop, a reverend or a pastor, a women leader for example. Maybe I can say I am not comfortable for now to speak about it. Okay. But if I can cut it in short. Yes. It reached a time I was chased out of my church. And then I can live it that way. Wow. Okay. Let's move on. Let's move on. No problem. I'm looking at the other women who are suffering out here and they are struggling the way you did. It must have been an emotional cycle, an emotional merry-go-round. Losing marriage and a child and living being excommunicated from a church. What would be your message to that woman that is watching you today that could be going through the same thing that you are going or even worse? How can they pull out? How can they be victorious? For the woman who is having these signs and symptoms and you have not gone to the hospital. Now a lot of organization, a lot of ministries of health is doing it in a bigger way. So just go to the hospital. If you don't have the right person to speak to, you can speak to me. And if I haven't reached to you yet, just go to the hospital. Go to the hospital and do the screening and you will know how to go it. Because you can't know you have cervical cancer until you have done the diagnosis. You can have the same signs and it might be the infection or it might be something else. I'm looking at also the emotional aspect of it. How can a woman come out of that victorious and win at the end of the day because it must be stressful. Yes, it is. What would be your message now to that woman now in terms of the emotions and trying to manage all these thoughts that are coming in and out of that? In terms of the emotions, I think you need to look for someone that you trust whereby it's so difficult to find. And the only way to manage the emotions is to let them out so that you didn't have to end up doing something which is not good. And another thing, if you feel like you want to cry, just cry it out. Just cry it out because that is the one thing that really helped me. Even when I was going through the treatment, I was crying a lot at the corridors of Kenya like everywhere. So if you feel like you want to cry, it's okay. Crying doesn't mean you are weak. Crying means that you are strong and you are ready to fight or to attack the situation that you are going through. Wow. So now here, this is malecent. All these signs and symptoms are there. Prayers, problems are coming in from church, problems are coming in marriage and now even children. What happened next? Tell me what happened next now after that part. So in 2015 I saw a lady talking on television like the way I am talking about signs and symptoms of cervical cancer. There were the same signs that I was going through. So I opened up to my boss. She was a lady and she had a lot of knowledge about, she had a little knowledge about cervical cancer. You told her what you were going through? And she pushed me to go to the hospital the next day. She told me it might be cancer or infection, but I told her I'm not having pain. I'm having pain like a little bit, but when it started I didn't have pain and she told me cancer doesn't have pain when it's starting. So I went to the first facility the next day and I was told like I'm still young. I was 25 years by then. You are too young to have cervical cancer. It's infection. They gave me the antibiotics. I went with the antibiotics home after 7 days. Nothing happened. I went back to the chemistry board, the same antibiotics. Yes, nothing happened. At this time in your head, were you having a mind that you had cervical cancer or did you believe that you did not? When I heard the ladies talking about it, I went directly to the facility to ask for the screening. But they told me we can't give you the screening, you are still young. So I was like 50-50. Now the doctor says because most of us we really believe what our doctors are telling us, but there's something that I have seen on television. It's still in my mind. You cannot remove it from your head. So I went to another facility and I insisted. I told them if you are not going to do the screening, then I'm not going to get out of here. You? You said I wouldn't leave this hospital until you screened me. Yes. Because it was a missionary hospital, so the screening was a bit cheaper. By then we were paying for the cervical cancer screening. So at that facility it was a bit cheaper. So after insisting, the nurses told me you will be the last person and if someone comes in, they treat that person and they left me because they saw at my age and the way I'm telling them. So when I went to do the screening, that was like a death sentence to me. Because I was 50-50 and I knew since my level of the pocket of cancer because I knew cancer belongs to someone else who is not me. The rich? Yes. And when I went, I prepared myself and they normally used something called a speculum. So when they were trying to use the speculum to see the cervix, I heard this a lot of blood coming out and they were shocked. At that young age. I'm looking at, even as we will come back there, let me take a few steps back. Is it, right now as a cancer, you're an advocate, you do cancer advocacy, do you think that it was right for a doctor to tell you that we will not screen you because you're young and was it also okay for them to keep you, others come after you, they attend to them and still keep you waiting at the level where we are at today? Today I think if any body, any woman, even if they are 16 or 18 years, I understand we have these guidelines but if you get any young lady who is already sexual active, she has a child and maybe she can tell you, let us say she is sexual active. I think she needs to do the screening but we have these guidelines that our doctors are using but for me, I think anyone who is sexual active needs the screening. They should be allowed to go for screening? Yes. Now let's move forward. You said now you are there, you are at this hospital, I know your heart is beating there, all things negative are running through your mind. You don't know what next, it's like death sentence. Yes. When they were trying to check the cervix I heard a lot of clots of blood. It's like they were on the door knocking and they wanted someone to open the door for them. So I heard this a lot of blood and they told me, Milsen we are sorry, I am still on the bed. Milsen we are sorry. They are saying you are sorry. It must be devastating. Yes, we are sorry Milsen because the blood was a lot, even the nurse got a little bit of blood on the top and she said, Milsen we are sorry, and they tried to show me when you go to do the screening and they have these normal cervix, the cassara cervix, the stage 1, 2, 3 and they told me, you as is here. Yes, at that moment that is not a kind of photo that I really wanted to see because you can imagine they are showing you as is here and that part looks like it's rotten and you can imagine the one who has the same thing that they are telling me or no. Should they have prepared you for this kind of report or something? Yes, they could have prepared me or maybe hugged me because hug speaks a lot. Just hugging and talking, cancelling in a way. Telling me first is well before they tell me you have cancer or maybe they can have been, took me to a different room so that they tell me not when I was on the bed. I fainted like I did. You fainted? Maybe I could have been in heaven by that moment but I came back and they were still holding the papers talking a lot of English, how can we do and they really said a lot of stories and then they gave me the referral, they gave me the referral to go to the higher facility to do some more tests before I do the treatment. I think we should have a better way of handling bad news or relaying bad news. Or actually we can use another survivor to be the ones breaking the news or when the doctor wants to break the news they can have a survivor there to encourage them, to talk them, to prepare them mentally and then the doctor comes to break the news. But not doing it while you are on that table. On that table. I have never seen, the conversation was something like this and she is still young. How come? So now they are talking among themselves. Yes and they thought I can't hear English. Because you are from Korokocho? From Korokocho. By then I didn't know how to speak in English. I am a closet laborer. Look at you now. Look at you now. Look at me. By then I didn't know. Melisa and you are a strong woman. Yes I am. So now they had to remove you from that table. What happened next? How was it? You are fainted. They gave me a sanitary and they told me shukachini come down and then they gave me the referral and they told me to go to a national hospital so that I can do some more tests. I was coming out from the facility. I was crying. There is this man who thought maybe my husband has beaten me and he was asking me kwa ni bana kwa ma kuchapa? I was just crying. At first I told myself maybe I can go to the road and commit suicide by road accident but I remembered my kids and since I was raised up mami I can't die and live my kids. Maybe I can just prepare myself and go to where my kids are and kill them and kill myself. And I thank for my boss because I called her and she told me how did it went. I told her they are telling me I have cancer stage 4 and I need to go to the hospital she told me where are you just stand there I am coming. She came for me and she tried her best to talk to me but it was like no she helped me with the insurance I get the national insurance she paid the only year she is still the one who is paid for my insurance and then she told me to go to the national facility to see what is going to what the doctors are going to tell me and when I went to the national facility by then we had a lot of q now we don't have q but by then I was told you need to look for 13,000 and you need to come next year at a time like this and we need to book you it was harsh it was devastated it was it was like part of me is already dead and I wasn't ready for it because I thought like every one when I normally talks to other cancer patient newly diagnosed I was thinking like this cancer is for my neighbor not for me so now I have it and I didn't had any hope I knew like I am going to die the next minute all hope was gone all hope was gone and what about family and friends what about anybody close did you have anyone close to you who could be there for you at that time in my journey some of the members of my family thought like they were like me they thought I am going to die the next minute some said I need to go home and do it for my day and some like in short I can say I was helped in my journey by the strangers and my fellow cancer survivors my fellow cancer patient because I got my treatment actually in 2017 I was diagnosed in 2015 the 2 years gap I was in prayers adding more prayers looking for the kenyages the traditional treatment but when I decided to do my treatment in 2017 I was among the people who are aired on national television who are sleeping on the corridors of kenyata for the lack of transport for the lack of food but I am glad I did the treatment and I am glad I went to the hospital because maybe I listened now could have been a new story wow yes that's something I am trying to wrap my head around what you are saying there and I am seeing this woman who has expectations of the future is something you are looking forward to and right now you are at that point where everything is black no future no hope no love, no family, no friends those who are there for you are actually strangers I want you to talk to somebody today who is watching you and everyone has left them no one is by their side the husbands have left the wives have left the family friends have left and they have no hope what would be your word to them coming from someone who has gone through it wow I am trying my best not ruin my makeup so I would love to tell them there is light after the darkness you can see yourself crawling in darkness but I assure you there is light the other week I was at the national facility encouraging and I told them now I have changed my prayer back then I was crying to God why me why me but now I have changed my prayer to tell God thank you for giving me cancer because cervical cancer has given me some opportunities so the challenge that you are going through it doesn't matter which challenge but just know that there is some light somewhere just having these suicidal thoughts are normal but make sure after having those thoughts don't do it because your community needs you you are the only person that can help someone because if I could have been committed suicide I am holding a lot of women in my hands even I am staying with some of them in my house so who could have been able to do that so don't give up don't lose up continue fighting continue pressing on and one day you will be a testimony to your community and you will be a blessing to your family just as you are a testimony and a blessing a pillar for somebody at that point before you get these thoughts in your head what are some of those why you having those regrets at that time why you having doubts and regrets and things you felt like you started to hate I am trying to get into the mind of me listen who is at this hospital right now what was going through her mind by then I hated myself first you hated yourself yes I hated myself first and maybe I can use this opportunity to change how the doctors speak on our national media about cervical cancer because when they were saying about the risk of getting cervical cancer most of them you will hear them saying if you have multiple men and if a doctor goes on national media and say if you have multiple men you will get cervical cancer and for me I was a young woman who had a man at young age and that is one of the risk that is leading for a lot of women see you like a tabu there is that stigma and each time you tell someone you have cervical cancer they will start saying you are prostitute or you have multiple men and that's why you get cervical cancer which is not maybe it can be they can say something else they can look up they can talk about it but not that message so that is one of the challenges that I went through because they were telling you that you must have been just and even my own husband because he saw it somewhere your own husband said it to you yes and a lot of that is one of the things that made me hurt myself because if someone can tell you or if my children can see such information on national television it will be so difficult to handle them or to speak to them so it was it was hectic and some of the bitterness in me I poured it on my children okay yes I really wanted them to have a good life but when I was in this pain I felt like maybe they are the ones who are making me to have this pain and if my kids do something maybe a little mistake I will beat them to death it really annoyed you yes because I didn't have someone to pour these bitterness or to tell them the how angry I am everything that I collected I poured it to my children and that is what is happening with a lot of women outside there wow that's happening to everyone some children they end up getting beaten up black and blue but the problem is not them it's the stress the parent is going through yes and after doing my treatment and knowing more and getting love from my fellow cancer patient when we were sleeping together at the hospital yes I was able to go back to my kids and apologize for them because I wanted a good connection between me and my children and they were there they were the only people who doesn't have a place to go when I was on treatment so they must be there when I was having this heavy bleeding when I was getting the stigma from the plot where I was living not to shower and toilet with them they were there they were the ones who are taking care of the the waste in the bucket so after my treatment I went back to them and even when I used to beat them very bad they didn't have a place to go they stayed there with me you have strong kids they are under they are like my kids are the ones who are giving hope to fight and to continue talking about cancer and now I am so open enough they know anything about their mother but I thank God the older one is now 18 years wow wow 18 you apologized to your you know one thing that makes me you apologized to your children parents rarely do that and an African parent normally thinks like if you apologized to your children it's a curse healing starts from accepting your mistake so if you accept your mistake then you have started healing I want to take a short break Milizant and after this I want us to now tackle the journey now after now the diagnosis after the results after those things that came running through your head now what happened next how did you survive this how did you come out I love the fact that we are talking about it and you are smiling on your face because now they hope that was lost then has been renewed it has been found how did you manage to do that how did you manage to put a smile on your face after going through all that I want us to talk about that after this break thank you so much for for that touching story I don't know if you have been touched like I have been we are taking a short break but keep talking to us and letting us know where you are watching us from tell us what you think about Milizant's story what do you think about it we are going to come back with the story of Milizant how she survived cervical cancer her story right here on power talk welcome back this is power talk thank you so much for sticking with us I can see many people are talking to to us today someone just sent me a text is this David David I am enjoying your interview thank you so much David for that I appreciate your presence and of course Timothy if you have those feed on facebook you can bring them up and then we shall continue with this discussion right here I am with Milizant this is her story surviving cervical cancer is the discussion today on power talk is a pleasure being with you the power talk show on twitter at Ramaguka or myhandle at Y254 channel which is the official station handle Milizant you are a strong woman I will keep on saying that through this show I know my god mumuni nani let me ask you now tell me the journey now from that time when now you have been diagnosed now let's pick it up from the time now you I don't know if you're still in hospital or you're leaving hospital or you know you're still sticking around that place of visiting I don't know how was it after that okay when I went to the hospital after doing my biopsy test because each cancer you must do the biopsy so that you can continue the treatment I went my doctor told me to do the psychos of chemotherapy six cycles and do 25 cycles of radiotherapy and 3 cycles of brachy therapy so by then I had an issue of my blood count so each time getting blood was a challenge before I started the treatment I was told you you don't have enough blood to handle the treatment because of the previous experience that you had yes and heavy bleeding which is one of the signs of cervical cancer yeah so I went to the facility I got blood transfusion and I went back for my treatment so in 2017 alone I got 14 pounds of blood and I wasn't able to do all the chemotherapy by then because of before you do the chemotherapy you need to do the blood works whereby even getting that money was a challenge and when I was going from the treatment you see by nowadays if you are newly diagnosed they walk you through the journey they tell you you will do this and after this long you will do this and you will have this side effects but for me I was not told at my days so after doing after doing the first treatment cervical cancer treatment is to take around 52 days but for me it took like 6 months because of being admitted for blood for blood transfusion and coming back for the treatment and after finishing the first the radiotherapy and chemotherapy I only did 3 cycles instead of 6 so I went for the brachy therapy and by then I started having these signs of early menopause and I didn't know anything about menopause I was young I was 28 years so I went to the facility and asked I told them I feel like cancer has come back but now cancer is in my skin and in my chest what do you mean because of the signs so the doctors ask me what do you mean the way you are asking I told them I am having this hotness on my skin and I am having this joto a lot of joto and I am having the pain in my chest and they started laughing and they told they started telling each one that might be the early menopause so they told me it's normal I didn't know and one of my cries is that I wish my doctor could have told me that I need to know even if it might be piece by piece like preparing me after this you are going to have this one after this you are going to have this one they could have taken you through the steps that you were going to make instead they left you out they left you alone and I don't know if we have the kids who are watching because I would have love something for the patients and maybe let me see maybe you can find the way one of the side effects of the treatment we have a lot of side effects of the treatment of the patient who is going through cervical cancer we have these early menopause we have these getting fat like I am and we have we have these okay I don't know how to put it but you can't have you won't be able to to get intimacy maybe after that okay you can you can if you have been told what to do when you are on the treatment but if you haven't been told you will end up having like that part will be close you can't and that was one big challenge but we have these steps that you need to use but I am glad nowadays the doctors at Kenyatta are guiding the women whereby I can't say we are not there but they are telling them how to handle the situation and maybe our minister of health need to create more awareness about that and also to bring dilators for cervical cancer patient the minister needs to do that yes the minister needs to do that because we don't have unless you are being treated on a private facilities they have there but on our government facilities instead of dilators they are telling you to use some other things but now how did male sense survive cervical cancer because now this is where things get stony or rough here how did you survive now at first I can say I survived because maybe I can say I survived because if I can say I was praying patient who have been praying and they are no more if I can say I went to the treatment we have those patients who have been to good hospitals and they are no more I just survived you can say it's a bit of both yes it's a bit of both and I am too careful when I am saying this because I have met women of God who have done everything they have even but they have lost their battles so I normally love to be so sensitive and I survived because I needed to help someone someone needed to hear my story so that they can go to the hospital and I needed to encourage newly diagnosed and I also needed to talk to our government and to talk to the guardians any guardians out there any lady outside there more about screening HPV vaccine and also to talk to the government about the to walk the journey with the survivors now that you mentioned that on that point this is the opportunity you have the ability to if you had that ability to speak to the government your call to action your prayer your request what you would like them to do what would that message be that's your camera talk to them to our government or to my government now treating cervical cancer has been too expensive and we are losing more women we can't just stay there and say in Kenya we lose more than 9 women per day stay there and continue telling out the story that is a negative story and we can't just stay there and say like we are diagnosing this number of women each day whereby we are losing more women who have not yet be diagnosed because of the high the high payment of the diagnosis the biopsy is too expensive and after the diagnosis and also the treatment like right now the NHS national insurance fund is paying only for the 20 cycles of radiotherapy and you have this poor medicine from the village who needs to do 25 cycles and the same medicine needs to do the brachytherapy brachytherapy is 40,000 per session and the patient is 120 120 shillings Kenyan money to do all of the 3 cycles so we need to do something maybe we need to make the treatment like free for our women and also after the treatment we have survivors the government needs to show us to show people like us who have been survived through cancer they need to talk to us they need to encourage us and mostly they need to put us there when they are breaking the message to the cancer to the newly cancer patient so that is the biggest aim when the policy makers are doing their thing making the doing the policy makers we need to be there so that we say nothing for us without us and no woman should die of cervical cancer because we have the information and we can give them doctors went to school and for us we went through the journey we have the experience that we went through so we need to be on the table you need to be on the decision making table just we need to be on the decision making table at the end of the day everyone has a role to play yes you feel like cancer treatment should be made free it should made free because I can tell you and I can testify to you we are losing more cancer that those cancer patient who have not been diagnosed because they went to the facility and they were told you need to have 40,000 shillings for the biopsy only a test we normally call it satanic figures because if you come to me even now now food is too expensive if you come to me you need to do the biopsy and I tell you need to bring this amount to do the biopsy you will end up giving up so we are losing more women once we were told 9 women those have already done the biopsy what about those who have not done those who come from poor families those who come from the slums from the villages from the parts of the country where there is no sufficient medical attention that can be taken to those regions people are dying people are dying even we have screening everywhere and after when the women goes for the cervical cancer screening and they were told you have this you have positive they normally call it suspicious you have suspicious cancer those women who are not most of them are not able to continue they stay at home and they wait for their days to die I don't like it wow let me get it from you this is militant after diagnosis this is militant now going home how was life now coping up interacting with people I am reminded of what you said earlier where you said that those who are there for you were not family and friends they were strangers and your fellow cancer patients now this is militant who has now left the hospital and is now starting this what I call a new normal how was it it was amazing anyone else who wish to finish the treatment and go back to their normal doing before the treatment the cancer thing I used to wash people's cloth but now I am back home because of my back because of the side effect that I am having so when I went back home I just want to change to give up the facility that I was getting the treatment we had a long process for you to get treated you need to go from this office to that office but now they are doing well so I started by going to the international hospital and to show them the direction and each time I saw the patient sitting down and crying I went to them and asked them what is the problem you were going back to hospital was anyone calling you back I was going there by myself and you would do it you would spend the whole day in hospital just to show them the direction to talk to them to tell them I have just finished my treatment and you can do it because I knew that is where I am going to get courage to continue with the life and I knew someone else has impacted in me someone has had because this time I was crying on the queue when I was waiting for my turn to do the radiotherapy and my fellow cancer patient asked me what is the problem I told her I am crying because I have kids I can't go back for my kids I told her everything my father said this my friend said this my pastor said this and she told me I am glad you have been able to speak it have you eaten do you want something to eat and she gave me food so most of the things that we want we just want someone to listen to us we need someone to talk to and to be there not really talking but to listening whereby it is rare to find someone to listen to you and you found someone who could listen to you and you said you know what I will be doing this every single time how did you end up advocating for HPV it is because I started where I was living in Karyobangi I received a lot of stigma so I shifted from another plot inside Karyobangi and my biggest aim was to stop stigma in Karyobangi so I started telling women in the facility I went there myself I went there and started telling women have you gone for the screening you need to get screened and I had one day on our national media we were having this HPV vaccine launch and I told myself I wanted that for my daughter and by then they were only vaccinating a 10-year-old girl and my daughter was 10 years and when the vaccine was being launched nationally they asked me if I want my daughter to be vaccinated I told them that's what I really wanted for my daughter and I wanted my daughter to be the first one I was glad she was she was the first one it was a presidential launch and my daughter was the first one to be vaccinated and I felt like I have achieved I have given my daughter the best because preventing her from what I have been through it was the best gift I can give my daughter how were you able to convince her was she afraid I know a 10-year-old person can have so many questions to ask was it was it difficult for you when you were 20 remember Koragoshi is a ghetto starting from my 7-year-old they know a lot my daughter saw me what I was going through and when I saw the government talking about the HIV vaccine I told her would you love to get the vaccine or do you want to go through what I went through and since she saw it she told me no mam I want to get that vaccine and it is the best gift that a mother can give or a guardian can give to her daughter and that's what parents need to do everyone needs to make sure the vaccine is free and before the government launched the free vaccine the vaccine was there but they were paying a lot of money to vaccine their girls and right now it's free any government facility the vaccine is free and now they are vaccinating 10 to 14-year-old girls it's free and it is in two doses you get the first dose the girl gets after 6 months so parents if you are a parent these are things you need to do say deo yes do you love your daughter or do you want in the next 20 25 years later your daughter come to you and ask you why did you protect me you are an authority or you still have that mentality that these are rich men's problems wow that's a no do you love your daughter do you have that mentality that is a rich man's problem yes or do you want your daughter to come to you do you want your daughter to lose their marriage do you want your daughter to lose their future because of cancer when you get cervical cancer you stay away you lose your vision if you wanted to do something you can't do it you need to focus on the treatment the treatment is too expensive the treatment is too hectic and just make sure you have protected your daughter if you are listening to this voice make sure you have protected your daughter take care to get the free vaccine and you will be so thankful my daughter she is well she did the vaccine she is now 13 years wow I want you to talk to the men let's empower even our men here today me listen there is a man who is watching in fact I am seeing even some comments from men it's not right that a man would think of leaving the marriage because the wife has cervical cancer now it's because of this stigmatization that is there this mentality that is there I want you to talk to the men it happens to the men at first if you can afford to vaccinate your boy child because even boys can get a vaccine but now it's for a fee you need to pay for it but for the man like I have did my personal research and out of 100 only 10% of women stay there with the men in the period of cancer 10% of men stay with the women when they have cervical cancer but most of them when they have cancer we call it kwa when they have cancer but few of them I have met with them I have met with men who have been there for their wives which is amazing let's talk about first the 10% that have decided to stick with their wives with their women through this part your message to the 10% let's talk about that first thank you very much for being there for your wife and they want to maybe give us up for those for the women that the men kwa kwa kwa you are giving us hope that we have good men outside there good men still exist good men still exist thank you so much you are doing a good job continue working the journey with your woman and you will live a happy marriage and you are making a good a good guest to your boys it does not make you less of a man yes I have met them even I have met with one man who I hosted with his wife that man he lost the first wife to cervical cancer and now this is the second wife and the second wife has cervical cancer but he was taking care of a woman like this is my wife he accompanied her at the hospital he washed their clothes he did everything he fought for her lady would you like to pass a message to the 90% to the 90% when you are in a kwa kwa continue continue for the 90% of women for the men just know that you are running away from the problem face your problem what if you are going to get the same problem and know that that woman who has cervical cancer might maybe she had multiple men but maybe not maybe because men are the carriers maybe you are the one who brought the problem to her so if you are running away know that where you are going maybe you are going to put another problem there please be there for your woman you married that woman from love be there for her walk the journey together accompany her at the hospital and it doesn't make you a less man because you have stood with your lady and maybe you have kids what do you want your daughter to be treated if you are treating someone someone's daughter that way so make sure you are you are there you need to be there allow me to go to facebook and twitter I am starting with facebook and then Timothy will bring me up to twitter let me read facebook this is feminist mbone he is he is tuned in from gong he is saying watching you live from kakamega I love that story the story is touching with a lot of moral lessons thank you this is Maurice Jacob Makoha he is saying tuned in and watching from kakamega Namushia Cabras thank you so much so those are comments on facebook let me go ahead over to twitter we have them Michieka Enok an inspiring and resilient story thank you so much Michieka this is Kevin Odongo he is tuned in from Semora Rieda Santeni Sana these are just some of the comments that you have received today let me read one this is David and someone joined the show I am very grateful for our sister she is encouraging many people she is in control of every situation that we face I am also thankful for you for always looking for people like her God is in control thank you so much I want us to bring this discussion to a close I don't know if there is anything left out but I want to give you time to have a final word and talk to your people what would be your parting short that is your comment I want to encourage all women to go and get screening and it's good to do the pups me every year yes the screening is uncomfortable because you need to do some things but that five minutes could have saved my life so you need to go and do the screening it's so important and for the men outside there accompany your women and encourage them to go and do the screening we have another community so we are losing a lot because of the religious please our Islam community encourage our women to go and get screening because we are losing more women from our Islam community because of our religion yes we need to take over our religion but we also need to take over our lives and for any guardian outside there make sure you have vaccinated your daughter protect your daughter the vaccine is safe and my daughter got the vaccine both of them and she's good and I'm glad I've protected my daughter so make sure you have protected your daughter for the women who have been just told you have cervical cancer I'm here I'm your sister I'm your mother feel free to contact me on our social media me listen kagonga symbol of or you can check our facebook page symbol of oporias I will talk to you and I will guide you cervical cancer can be treated no woman should die of cervical cancer yes maybe you know your neighbor died of cervical cancer and that is worrying you not that you are from today know that you are different from your neighbor go to the hospital do that treatment do chemotherapy and if you can't afford the treatment speak out there is someone who is outside there can take over the treatment I've seen some of the people getting the treatment with zero money because a sister or a brother paid for the treatment so don't just shut your dreams and cry because you have been told you have cervical cancer for the survivors we need you you are the voice of the community speak about your journey encourage more women and be the voice be the advocate so that you can be known because your story is powerful thank you wow thank you so much so inspiring keep doing what you are doing I know that god is with you he has proven time and time again that he is with you thank you so much for sticking with us and sharing with us your story I wish you the best we would like to say that presents to the end of this morning discussion right here on this discussion concerning her story this is Melissan's story but before we do that I love how she is behaving she is smiling regardless of what she has gone through she is smiling thank you so much Melissan that presents to a quote of the day laughter is proof that we are still alive proof that our fortunes will not define us for the rest of our lives laughter is the survivor's language I love it you love it thank you so much and that presents to the end of this morning discussion right here my name is Ram Maguko this is Power Talk