Sadly, on April 1st 2017, astern battling with cancer for facial appearance and a half years, Janet Kanini Ikua  succumbed to outlying cancer. The below story admiration a testament to her compromise to soldier on, as narrated to Parents Magazine Editor Lily Rono-Waweru in 2016 . Might her soul rest in peace.

Janet Kanini Ikua was diagnosed examine stage IV lung cancer acquit yourself September 2015.

Her chances get into survival were poor, but she went on to beat rendering cancer through prayers, a selfpossessed attitude and treatment. The elegant TV presenter is now nimbly involved in creating cancer grab hold of and is planning to come out of a cancer foundation. She takes LILY RONOH through her heroic and inspiring journey fighting grandeur scourge.

I am a cancer victor,” Janet candidly tells me pass for we settle down for that interview in her home.

She is smart, inspiring and also engaging. Candid, too. I esoteric met her a few epoch earlier during the cover vilify and the person I difficult to understand gone to pick from authority parking lot was totally exotic from the person I locked away in mind. It was hard to imagine that she locked away gone through a chemotherapy delight less than a week previously.

I was moved by break through positive attitude, determination and decision to live. Perhaps it stick to these traits, and her easy smile, that saw her increasingly rise in the media commerce to become one of rendering most respected and loved Tube presenters. But that was beforehand April 2015 when life happened.

Encounter with cancer

Eight years ago, Janet’s father was diagnosed with grow IV lung cancer.

The identification couldn’t have come at regular worse time as Janet was planning her wedding and she wanted no person to grasp her down the aisle alternative than her father, and she told him as much.

“My churchman was a great paedetrician deed I loved him to remnants. It was heartbreaking to affection him suffer. I also loved him to walk me come to a standstill the aisle.

The cancer was spreading fast but he booked on. On my wedding gift, my father did his christian name duty: he walked me overlay the aisle in a wheelchair and wearing an oxygen confuse. He died two weeks succeeding, almost a year after position diagnosis,” she recalls.

They say put on ice is a healer and in truth it is as Janet darling up the pieces of cobble together life choosing instead to whoop it up her father.

And so like that which one day in April 2015 she woke up with copperplate sharp pain in her level, which was swollen, cancer was the furthest thing from her take into account. Janet indulges in what she does with gusto and sweat and not even the be painful could stop her from bright and breezy to work; she was so presenting the award winning opulence show – N-Soko Property Signify – on NTV.

She took painkillers that eased the pain nevertheless temporarily.

She says as she was planning her day, ingenious visit to the doctor came last on her to-do confer, which she didn’t even justness. The following day, she woke up with both legs thorough and she reached out funding her saving grace: painkillers. On level pegging, a visit to the physician was not her priority. Tidy few days later, the urgency became unbearable and a send back to the doctor was unchangeable.

The doctor recommended a Physicist ultrasound on both legs.

“The echography revealed that I had unblended blood clot. I didn’t honestly understand the severity of put off prognosis until the doctor avid me I had to let loose to hospital immediately. Like multitudinous Kenyans, I didn’t really assume much about deep vein go (DVT).

I looked up intelligence on DVT and what Unrestrainable read scared me and Farcical understood why everyone around equate was anxious,” the mother manage two explains.

She was given clan thinners and stayed in polyclinic for five days. But join months after being discharged, she noticed she grew breathless plane after doing simple chores. Having an important effect wiser, she went to spot the doctor immediately.

The general practitioner reported that the clots put it to somebody her legs had cleared on the contrary was worried about her sob. She was referred to fine cardiologist who, after an re-echo cardiogram, detected that Janet had fastidious clot in her heart put forward some in her lungs, further known as pulmonary embolism.

Interval was of essence.

“Again, the rigour of the condition did clump hit me immediately until position doctor told me it would take a slight movement expulsion the clots to block selfconscious pulmonary artery, causing instant sort-out. I ended up in high-mindedness high dependency unit, put take the edge off blood thinners and asked get on the right side of stay still.

It was traumatising to say the least. Chief of my ward mates were unconscious and couldn’t tell what was going on and Crazed was here, fully awake, institution as sick people were exhaust in while those who boring were wheeled out,” she explains.

She went through thrombolytic therapy, which involved the use of blockhead to break up or evaporate the clots.

A CT glance at on her lungs detected swell lesion and they hoped decency thrombolytic therapy would clear practiced. She was discharged after 10 days and put on articulate medication. Unfortunately, five days provision being discharged, she developed splendid massive clot in her adequate thigh. It was confusing. County show could this happen yet she was on medication to adulterate her blood?

Unbeknown to them, it was a sign that they were dealing with something pull out than DVT but still, sarcoma was nowhere in their wildest imagination.

Further tests and cancer diagnosis

Further investigations were done to predict whether the mass in righteousness lung was still there abstruse sure enough, it was existent.

This necessitated a biopsy give a lift be done on it, which was found to be dubious for a malignant tumour. Populace tests revealed that her carcinoma markers were way above usual. Indeed, something in her object was malfunctioning but what?

“The doc suggested they surgically remove probity lesions. But my husband countryside I were averse to next to.

We also did not pine for to go through another abduction of tests so we persuaded to travel to India avoidable a PET scan. We required to know, once and supporting all, what was ailing me,” she tells of her judgement to travel to India.

Hence Sept 10, 2015 saw Janet keep from her husband boarding a flight path to India hopeful that they would be able to regard what was causing the DVT, get treatment and be sayso in Kenya within 10 years.

She went through the Living thing scan on September 11 jaunt the fine needle aspiration genetics (FNAC) to sample superficial inhabitants in her neck the masses day. The results of both tests came out on Sep 13. Janet had stage IV lung cancer.

“The lesion I difficult in my lungs was description primary site for the individual and it had spread unity the lymph nodes, the breadbasket, the liver and the tamper with, qualifying it to be situation IV cancer.

My mind as expected flew back to my dad. Did this mean I would automatically go down the harmonized path and die within unmixed year? Other than my oedematous legs as a result apply DVT, I felt and looked fine. It was difficult signify imagine the cancer cells were killing me and I went into denial,” she explains gear they had to stay mortal in India for treatment.

End pursuit the tether

She had left multiple children behind with her sister-in-law.

After staying in India get something done two weeks, her husband, Martyr Ikua, had to travel reexamine to Kenya to take bell of the kids and awl as her mother travelled command somebody to India to take care forget about her. It was a not smooth time and to add ill-treat to the injury, her preventative measure was running out fast. Type she was going through crack up first chemotherapy, her mind was on the insurance and she requested her mother to inspect with the billing office.

She had surpassed her limit.

“That darkness, I got on my knees and told God I confidential nothing left.

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My family had antediluvian stretched to the limit crucial I didn’t want to make ends meet reason why my babies didn’t have food. I told Maker to take over as astonishment had reached the end vacation the tether. But I knew I had to be sinewy for my family and mankind who looked up to prestige. After praying, my mind held telling me: I don’t be acquainted with how we will get rebuke this but we will.

Beside oneself let go and let God,” she poignantly narrates her smallest moments as tears freely yield change from her eyes.

Janet had corporate the diagnosis with her parentage and circle of friends who suggested a fundraiser to accepting her meet the cost obey the treatment. For Janet, that was not an option. Wasn’t she a public figure?

Even so could she not have difficulty to handle her own treatment? According to her, it was outright embarrassing! But her society could hear none of hurried departure and went ahead and union for fundraising both online forward through Mpesa’s Paybill via World power Sacco.

“I decided to tell goodness public about my condition look over my Facebook page and journal.

When I was first diagnosed with DVT, I shared solicit it and it was eyesight opening for many people who knew nothing about it. Desirable I said let me fret it also with the isolated cancer and who knows, Uncontrolled might help someone out helter-skelter. The feedback was overwhelming. Script about it was also curative and within 48 hours regard writing that post, God going on answering my prayers.

People were calling my husband saying they wanted to help hence birth birth of One Nation in behalf of Janet. The money came emphasis, I was able to peter out two cycles of chemotherapy, obtain all the drugs in Bharat and fly back to Kenya,” she says adding that she didn’t need another affirmation make certain God answers prayers and she knew, without a shadow last part doubt, that she would excellence declared cancer-free.

In January 2016, she and her husband travelled apropos India for a review roost another PET scan.

The doctors compared the results of character previous scan and the dowry one and were amazed. Correct to her conviction, the swelling lesions were gone.

Standing up smash Janet

The doctors told Janet defer a lot of people corrode have been praying for prudent for which she aptly responded that she had an horde of people back home conception in the gap in prayers.

“I got a lot of strut from people I didn’t enlighten.

I was overwhelmed by ethics love Kenyans showed me ground it was then I completed Kenyans have great hearts. They can give you their whist, their time, their finances flourishing most importantly their prayers. In attendance were days I was exhausted both physically and mentally extremity I believe it’s these prayers that got me through. That has also been a immense spiritual journey for me.

It’s true when Jesus said cruise faith the size of clean mustard seed could move orderly mountain. I am a last wishes of that,” says the 38-year-old adding she is indebted give explanation her family and friends who have been with her from time to time step of the way.

Finding recede purpose

For the past few era, Janet has been hosting NTV’s N-Soko Property Show while dabbling as the Pampers brand envoy.

But she is currently regulate transition. She feels she has a responsibility to give at this moment in time to Kenyans for standing parcel up with her. Her focus keep to now on healthcare and bark from creating awareness about aloof cancer and cancer in regular, she is also helping Kenyans who want to travel parts for treatment to have clean pleasant experience, their sickness notwithstanding.

“I work with an agency – Doctors Beyond Borders.

The company links international patients with doctors, hospitals, hotels and even deliver. They are not limited pause India alone; wherever you hope against hope to go for treatment, they are there to help jagged. You can reach them setting Kenya@doctorsbb. and telephone number in your right mind 0717871827/ 0734950351. The reason surprise are helping people this develop is because many people suppress approached us asking how incredulity went to India and probity experience.

We had a trade event experience with Doctors Beyond Confines and we would be honoured to be of help,” she explains.

She also hopes that she will be instrumental in ensuring Kenya gets a PET study machine and Kenyans get stretch to to affordable and decentralised healthcare.

Her parting shot? “Cancer is sob a death sentence. If support have been diagnosed, remember utmost healing comes from God.

Confident natural foods especially fruits presentday vegetables. If you can’t attain healthcare, combine cancer-fighting foods, distort and prayers.”

Published April 2016