According to Kenya’s Ministry of Health and Sanitation’s National Cancer Control Strategy, cancer ranks third as a cause of death after infectious diseases and cardiovascular diseases. It causes 7% of total national mortality every year. Although population-based data does not exist in the country, it is estimated that the annual incidence of cancer is about 28,000 cases and the annual mortality to be over 22,000. Over 60% of those affected are below the age of 70 years.

In Kenya, the risk of getting cancer before the age of 75 years is 14% while the risk of dying of cancer is estimated at 12%. Risk factors include tobacco use, harmful use of alcohol, and exposure to environmental carcinogens. Other risk factors include infectious diseases such as HIV or AIDS, HPV, Hepatitis B and C, Helicobacter pylori, and parasitic infestations such as schistosomiasis.

The leading cancers in women are breast, esophagus, and cervical cancers. In men, esophagus and prostate cancer and Kaposi sarcoma are the most common cancers. Based on 2002 data from the Nairobi Cancer Registry, of all the cancers registered breast cancer accounted for 23.3 percent, cervical cancer for 20 percent, and prostate cancer for 9.4 percent. In 2006, around 2,354 women were diagnosed with cervical cancer and 65 percent of these died of the disease.

It is estimated that as many as 82,000 new cases are diagnosed annually, with women exhibiting the highest prevalence rates. According to recent findings, one in every two Kenyan women is affected by cancer of either the breast or cervix. Screening at existing VCT centers and family planning clinics has been recommended.