No, I’m not going to let  bone cancer get the better of me

Dr Getrude Musuruve Inimah relaxing at home.  Although she needs support to walk, she’s independent and drives herself to work. PHOTO | DAVID KANYINGI

What you need to know:

  • After surviving little-known disease, university lecturer Getrude Inimah Musuruve has found new strength and willpower and will  not relent  in her efforts to make society change its attitude towards people with disabilities.
  • In India, her treatment began with a limb-saving surgery, which entailed removing part of her pelvis and replacing the femur (thigh) bone with a customised hemi-pelvic prosthesis. The surgery was successful and the cancerous tissue was removed.
  • There are things that happen in life that turn things around for people. My disability, I would say, did just that. I acquired new strength and willpower and started seeing things differently. My priorities, as well as the way I viewed life, changed.

For as long as Dr Getrude Musuruve Inimah could remember, she had always been a picture of good health. Then, one day in 2013, she felt a slight pain on her right hip joint. Always on the move, she shrugged it off and blamed it on her busy lifestyle. But as time went on the pain increased, until it got to a point where she was forced to limp. She felt it was time to seek medical attention and went to a hospital in Nairobi. Her worst fears were confirmed when the medical checkup revealed that she had bone cancer.

“The disease struck when I was at the peak of my life. My children were doing well in school, I was enjoying my career and even pursuing my PhD, and life was generally great,” says the 49-year-old mother of four and lecturer at the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT).

“The news hit me hard and I felt as if I was falling apart by the minute,” she adds.

The local hospital could not treat her, so it referred her to India. But to get treatment in India, she needed Sh5 million — which she did not have — to take care of the flights, treatment, medication and accommodation. Friends and relatives rallied around her to help fundraise but the money was still not enough. So Dr Inimah was forced to sell some family property to top up the money she had collected to enable her to make the trip.

Dr Getrude Inimah with her children in a family potrait. PHOTO | DAVID KANYINGI

She travelled to India together with her sister in August 2013 and was admitted to hospital shortly after arrival.

“I went through the most trying time in my life. I looked at my children when I was at the airport and felt sad. I was leaving them for the unknown and they were worried about me. I felt I might not make it. However, I remained strong for their sake and kept assuring them that I would be back home in no time with a clean bill of health,” says Dr Inimah, looking at one of the family photographs hanging on the wall in her house.

In India, her treatment began with a limb-saving surgery, which entailed removing part of her pelvis and replacing the femur (thigh) bone with a customised hemi-pelvic prosthesis. The surgery was successful and the cancerous tissue was removed, although she had to remain longer in hospital for observation and further treatment.

After being in hospital for nine months, Dr Inimah returned to Kenya and was driven home from the airport in an ambulance.

“At no time did the doctors mention that I would become disabled as a result of the treatment. It hit me really hard when I realised that I needed crutches to walk,” she says. 

The disability marked the beginning of a new life for Dr Inimah – literally. She could not cook for her children as she had always done. Nor could she run around the house with her grandson, something she had greatly enjoyed before she fell sick. 

However, she says the disability also made her a better person.

“How?” I asked.

LIFE PURPOSE

Dr Getrude Inimah at work. After a nine-month stay in a hospital in India, she is back to her lecturing job at the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology. PHOTO | DAVID KANYINGI

“There are things that happen in life that turn things around for people. My disability, I would say, did just that. I acquired new strength and willpower and started seeing things differently. My priorities, as well as the way I viewed life, changed. Frankly, I am living a much fuller life than I did before I became disabled. God has been gracious to me and my family and I can’t ask for more,” she says.

“The difficult circumstances and passage of time have not changed my mother’s values and great personality. If anything,  her strength of  character has increased. She is the most resilient person I have ever known. She has shown us by example the importance of an unwavering positive spirit in the face of the storms of life,” one of her daughters interjects.

Dr Inimah returned to work in May 2014, beginning with light duties. By September, she had recovered enough to start teaching. She said the love and support  she received from her students and colleagues kept her going. She also continued with her PhD in mass communication, which she had started in 2013 before she fell sick, and graduated in November 2015.

Dr Inimah’s disability also rekindled her passion for helping people with disabilities. She has been inspiring, motivating and mentoring people with disability in the country  and also seeking to get people to change their perception of people with disability.

Dr Getrude Inimah with her daughter in their home. PHOTO | DAVID KANYINGI

And remarkably, her educational background in relation to people with disability places her in good stead to carry out this work in the community. In 1989, she attained a diploma in education and taught English language at St Angela School for the Deaf  in Mumias, Kakamega County,  for a  year. It was while there that she realised that deaf learners had linguistic challenges that needed to be addressed. And it is the desire to address those challenges that  inspired her to go back to college and study special education with a view to making a meaningful contribution to the education of deaf learners. So she enrolled at Kenyatta University for a degree in special education and graduated in 1998.

Shortly thereafter, she registered for a Masters degree in applied linguistics with an inclination to sign language studies at the same university. While studying for her Master’s Dr Inimah wrote four sign language books to address the linguistic challenges in the education curriculum for the deaf.

Then, for her PhD, she researched on, and wrote a thesis titled “The Media’s Portrayal of People with Disability in Kenya.”

“The vast experience that I have acquired over the years interacting with people with disabilities, my academic background in special needs and the fact that I am a woman with a disability makes me passionate about spearheading and championing the cause of  people with disabilities in this country,” Dr Inimah says.

She is the vice-chairperson of the National Council of Nomadic Education in Kenya, a post to which she was an appointed in 2015. The council’s vision is to make an impact on the lives of the vulnerable, marginalised and at-risk nomadic children. She is also the founder of the Living Beyond Cancer and Disability Foundation that raises awareness of cancer and disability. The foundation conducts a variety of activities, including visiting cancer patients in hospitals. However, it has been facing challenges due to financial constraints.

Dr Inimah is a source of hope not only to people with disabilities, cancer patients and survivors but also to those she interacts with daily as well as those who knew her before she was diagnosed with cancer.

INDEPENDENT WOMAN

Dr Getrude Musuruve Inimah continued with her PhD in mass communication, which she had started in 2013 before she fell sick, and graduated in November 2015. PHOTO | DAVID KANYINGI

She has produced a documentary on her journey in battling cancer and living beyond disability.

“Dr Inimah is the most positive person I have ever come across. Life gave her a lemon and she made lemonade. She is so full of positivity and confidence that she has no room or time for self-pity. Her infectious smile makes her glow like a fresh rose flower. She is a true example of the saying that it doesn’t matter what happens to you; what matters is how you react to what happens to you”, said Evans Kigen, one of her former students  and now a colleague at JKUAT.

So, what are the problems that disabled people face that Dr Inimah would like to see addressed? “Despite the constitution clearly stipulating the rights and privileges of people with various disabilities, little has been done in regard to the same. Some buildings and facilities are difficult to access because they are not built in a way that makes them friendly to people with disabilities.

“Disabled people still face a lot of stigma and stereotyping from society. It is time society changed its perception of people with disabilities and saw their ability instead of disability. In addition, and more importantly, qualified disabled people should be given equal employment opportunities and promotions,” she said.

 Despite her condition, Musuvure remains highly independent. She drives herself and does almost everything for herself.

“When society is friendly, people with disability find a conducive environment to achieve success and exploit their talents and professions and that is what I have been fighting for and will continue to do. My goal is to be in the frontline to represent and champion the rights of people with disabilities appropriately,” Dr Inimah adds.

And if the determination she has shown is anything to go buy, it is clear that she will stop at nothing to achieve that dream.

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ABOUT BONE CANCER

Bone cancer has different stages, which signify how advanced it is. PHOTO | FILE

Bone Cancer is a malignant tumour of the bone that destroys healthy bone tissue. It’s a rare type of cancer, accounting for less than 1 per cent of all cancers. Bone cancer is categorised into two types: primary and secondary. Survival rates vary, depending on a number  of factors including the type and stage of the cancer.

Symptoms

The patient initially experiences pain in the affected area. Over time, the pain gets worse and continuous. In some cases, the pain is subtle, and the patient might not see the need to seek medical attention several months. Typically, bone cancer pain is deep and nagging. Other features are:

• There may also be swelling in the affected area

• Often the bone will weaken, resulting in a significantly higher risk of fractures

• The patient might  find himself/herself losing weight unintentionally

• A mass (lump) might be felt in the affected area

• Although much less common, the patient might also experience fever, chills, and/or night sweats

Causes

Nobody knows precisely what the causes bone cancer. However, patients with chronic (long-term) inflammatory diseases such as Paget’s disease are at a significantly higher risk of developing bone cancer later on in life. But nobody can explain why one person gets bone cancer while another one does not. And it is not contagious, which means you cannot catch it from someone else.

Bone cancer has different stages, which signify how advanced it is”

Stage 1:  The cancer has not spread out of the bone and is not aggressive.

Stage 2: Same as Stage 1, but the cancer is aggressive

Stage 3: Tumour's exist in at least two places in the same bone

Stage 4 - the cancer has spread to other parts of the body

Treatment

The type of treatment for bone cancer depends on a number of factors, including what type of cancer it is, where it is located, how aggressive it is, and whether it is localised or has spread. There are three approaches to its treatment:

Surgery: The aim of surgery is to remove the tumour, all of it if possible, and some of the bone tissue surrounding it

Radiotherapy: This involves the use of beams of high-energy x-rays or particles (radiation) to destroy the  cancer cells. Radiotherapy works by damaging the DNA inside the tumour cells, destroying their ability to reproduce.

Chemotherapy: This involves the use of chemicals (medication) to treat the disease. More specifically, it  refers to the destruction of cancer cells. Cytotoxic medication prevents cancer cells from dividing and growing. In general, chemotherapy has four possible effects:

• Total remission - to cure the patient. In some cases, chemotherapy alone can get rid of the cancer completely.

• Combination therapy - chemotherapy can help other therapies, such as radiotherapy or surgery, achieve more effective results.

• Delay/prevent recurrence - chemotherapy, when used to prevent the return of a cancer, is most often used after a tumour has been removed surgically.

• Slow down cancer progression - used mainly when the cancer is in its advanced stages and a cure is unlikely.