I hear its coz of the chemicals used to spray the coffee. They are inhaled and also washed down stream and the water consumed.

Whereas indeed it is true a lot has changed so that now cancer is more prevalent, it could also be equally true that more cases that would otherwise have been classified as death due to unknown causes are now being diagnosed and identified as cancer due to advancement in detection and diagnostic techniques.

On foul play, may be. There are claims for instance that Kaposi's sarcoma was a disease primarily affecting people of Jewish extraction but somewhere along the way, something is suspected to have changed so that now it is seen more in black people. Locally we see it mostly in patients with either undiagnosed or poorly managed advanced HIV/AIDS or in those with treatment failure.

Some cancers are also known to be associated with viruses (or other organisms) e.g Epstein-Barr Virus is associated with Hodgkin's and Burkitt's lymphomas as well as nasopharyngeal cancers, while Hepatitis B & C viruses are associated with liver cancer and Human Papilloma Virus is associated with cervical cancer. It therefore follows that control of such viruses/bacteria would go a long way towards reducing incidence of such cancers. For instance, it is widely known that HPV is spread sexually and thus safe sex, besides protecting against the usual STIs & pregnancy, is also beneficial in so far as cervical cancer is concerned. Thus, when we tell young girls to abstain from sex and delay their first sexual encounter for as long as possible, this is one of the less obvious reasons as to why. In recent times, due to prevalence of oral sex, this same HPV is now being implicated in cases of throat cancer. As a result there now is a drive to vaccinate prepubescent boys (as opposed to gals only) with the antiHPV vaccine (I believe one of the brands is Cervarix, made by GSK) in an attempt to protect them against throat cancer in much the same way it protects girls & women against cervical cancer.

According to research done in Australia & New Zealand (I forget the details, it's been a while), there is indisputable link between stomach cancer and Helicobacter pylori, the bacteria responsible for much of gastric ulcers. This bacteria is treatable with common, cheap antibiotics (after proper diagnosis of course). For this reason, stomach cancer has often been referred to as perhaps the only type of cancer wholly curable/preventable using normal, widely available antibiotics.

Of course, the association between toxins such as cigarette smoke & asbestos (for thise with cars, what material makes your break pads? And break linings? Spare a thought for your favorite mechanic, and please educate him/her) with lung cancer so I need not belabor the point. Of course, in recent times we're seeing a lot of oral & throat cancers in long term chewers of miraa though the culprit compound has not yet been identified, as well as hepatic cancer in chronic alcoholism (George Best, anyone?).

For those who come especially from coffee growing areas, you may probably have noticed a significant rise in especially stomach as well as other cancers especially amongst the older generation in their late 60s and above. Ever asked yourself why? My personal view is it probably has something to do with water contamination by the numerous toxic chemicals that were/are used in coffee farming, from herbicides to pesticides, etc. thus us perhaps made more plausible when you consider that most of these areas did not have piped drinking water till well into the 1990s and had to rely on the same contaminated streams and rivers for their drinking water. Just my thoughts though. I wish we had a local equivalent of CDC to study some of these things.

As fate would have it, NHK World is screening the first of a three part documentary about cancer. Gotta watch it. Good night pals.

Thanks to all for your sympathy. Much more needs to be done on the diagnostic stage of cancer. The causes seem to be still mysterious but with advances in diagnostic technology, I believe we can do better as a country. Beside the high cost of treating cancer locally, I think cancer ought to be given the same coverage and status of epidemic as HIV, TB and malaria sooner than later.

As long as the so called leaders can jump into a plane to be treated in hospitals either in the west or Asia then we shouldn't expect change. I remember when Beth Mugo and Anyang' Ny'ong'o came back from treatment they were full of promises, was there any action taken even?

On KEMRI...I also know of its facilities in Kilifi and Nrb. The only research they've concentrated on is Malaria and HIV, maybe its time they had a look at cancer too.

Thanks to all for your sympathy. Much more needs to be done on the diagnostic stage of cancer. The causes seem to be still mysterious but with advances in diagnostic technology, I believe we can do better as a country. Beside the high cost of treating cancer locally, I think cancer ought to be given the same coverage and status of epidemic as HIV, TB and malaria sooner than later.

IMHO I think African docs and researchers need to stop relying so much on the west for research rather, they should look into the African society for answers.

When we were young, tonsillitis was a big problem but our grandmas would get into the bush and come out with some roots and barks that when boiled would heal us. Its my grandma who told me that kitunguu saumu reduces highblood pressure. And she isn't alone, there are many other skilled grandmas out there can you imagine if more research was done on these issues?

In India, the gurus who were taught the traditional medicine of Ayurveda go through formal training too. Infact they are certified and patients usually take medical prescriptions and diagnosis to them for 2nd opinion. For more info watch documentaries on Ayurveda -The art of being, will be a good start.

Read this Metal Ayurvedic treatment can cure leukemia

What about this effective teeth cleaning agent by a Kenyan

Ate kee? One in every 2?

Researchers Dr Lynne and Dr Ian Hampson of Manchester University, UK and Dr Innocent Orora Maranga of KNH, put 40 cervical cancer patients on HIV drug lopinavir for two weeks. When tested for cancer after three months, more than 90 per cent of the patients were found to be free of the disease.

“Out of 23 women initially diagnosed with high-grade disease, 19 returned to normal and two had low-grade disease. Furthermore, the 17 women initially diagnosed with borderline or low-grade disease also showed similar improvement,” said a statement from Manchester University.