Introduced to the public in October last year, 4 year old baby Lexie had been battling cancer since her diagnosis at the age of two. In June, last year, she underwent a bone marrow transplant in India, one that was hoped to give baby Lexie a chance at living a longer life. Financial support was rallied through social media, through the African Cancer Foundation and eventually, the Ministry of Medical Services through, Minister Prof. Anyang Nyongo, himself a cancer survivor intervened. An intervention that saw the National Health Insurance Fund deposit 2 million shillings to finance baby Lexie’s transplant. After the transplant, it was said that it would take Baby Lexie, at least 2 years to regain immunity, to strengthen her odds of survival that stood at 10 %, she was under heavy medication. Sadly, her painful journey ended this morning. She passed on on a day that the Medical Services Minister Professor Anyang Nyongo, said there was encouraging development in treatment and care for cancer patients in future because of the opening and expansion of several cancer centers in hospitals. Nyongo has added that some international guidelines have to be domesticated for Kenya. Nyongo says that the Medical Services Ministry plans to have NHIF universal coverage catering for difficult diseases and poor people.
Posted by Maureen Murimi
