On 24th April 2023, KUTRRH hosted His Excellency President William Ruto who visited the Hospital to commission the CyberKnife machine. The CyberKnife is the latest generation of non-invasive precision treatment that treats cancerous and noncancerous tumors in areas of the body previously thought to be untreatable. The Cyberknife S7 delivers painless treatment by use of high doses of precise targeted robotic radiation therapy and is an alternative to surgery.
It is the second of its kind in Sub-saharan Africa. Cancer patients can now breathe a sigh of relief after installation of the Cyberknife as the treatment requires three to five sessions with minimal risk of complications or damage to healthy tissues.
Learn More about KUTRRH CyberKnife Centre!
Pledges Made By The President To KUTRRH
1. Installation of the Next-Generation Sequencing Machine:
Moreover, he has promised to honor the request from Prof. Olive Mugenda to install a Next-Generation Sequencing Machine at KUTRRH through the Ministry of Health which will reduce the treatment waiting time for treatment from months to days. The President was optimistic that with increased investments in medical equipment, the waiting time for treatment would eventually be a matter of hours not days.
Next-Generation Sequencing technology provides remarkable opportunities to characterize personal or individual genome sequencing and to identify mutations relevant to disease diagnosis and therapy. Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) has gained popularity due to the reasonable costs, feasible data quantity, and forthright interpretation of analysis results. The occasion began with the President being given a tour of the Hospital.
2. A Second Linac Machine
In his address during the occasion, the President promised that KUTRRH would get a second Linac radiotherapy machine within 120 days from the date of the function. This will double the treatment capacity and reduce the treatment waiting time.
3. Construction of The Children’s Hospital
As per the request articulated by the Chair of the Hospital Board, Prof. Olive Mugenda, His Excellency the President approved the completion of the stalled Children’s Hospital. The President also promised that the Government will construct the Women’s Hospital, including the Breast Care Centre. These projects are all part of the Hospital’s strategic plan to make it a regional world-class hospital.
The President congratulated KUTRRH for the historic milestone of installing the Cyberknife which is also a fantastic medical and technological investment.
“It is a bold statement of intent that has emphasized Kenya’s resolve to become a regionally and internationally competitive healthcare investment destination,” the President said.
The President also commended all the staff and the management of KUTRRH saying,
“I was able to witness first-hand the incredible job you are doing in serving the people of Kenya and humanity.”
This was after interacting with specialized staff in various departments and stations during the tour. In her speech during the event, Prof. Olive Mugenda also requested the establishment of a Children’s Hospital noting that KUTRRH needs more pediatric wards as the Hospital was now being compelled to use adult wards to accommodate children.
“This country does not have a fully dedicated referral hospital for children at a time when pediatric cancer cases are on the rise,” Prof. Mugenda noted.
Prof Mugenda thanked the Government of Kenya for accepting to avail the resources to acquire this machine and urged Kenyans to make use of this highly specialized equipment if, according to their doctors, they are candidates for it.
“At KUTRRH, we will continue doing our best to support the Government’s effort in realizing Universal health for citizens and to improve clinical outcomes,” the Chair of the Board promised.
The CyberKnife is a highly specialized and sophisticated stereotactic radiosurgery system that is used to treat tumors on sensitive organs such as the brain; head and neck; liver; lungs; pancreas; prostate, and spinal cord.
The system’s advantages are that it is a painless treatment that takes a short time at most five treatment sessions. It is able to reach areas that have been unreachable by other treatment technologies. Movement of the tumor during treatment caused by coughing, breathing, and swallowing, among others does not alter its precision since the machine automatically adjusts the radiation beams accordingly.
This precision treatment limits damage to healthy tissue; hence very few side effects. It is ideal for patients unable to undergo surgery or who do not wish to have surgery.