My CV: From an Intern To First & Only Female Kenyan Radiation Oncologist

We all have our dreams while growing up, but would you change your dream and pursue something your peers advised you to?

Katherine Nyongesa-Watta had always dreamt of becoming a paeditrician. However as she pursued a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery in 1995, at University of Nairobi (UON), her peers advised her to take on another area.

In an interview with Eve Woman, she confesses that her friends reasoned that she should settle for an area that few medics pursue; that of treating cancer patients through radiation therapy.

After completing her course she got to intern at Kakamega Provincial General Hospital in 1996.

One year later she went to Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) as a medical officer and general practitioner.

It is here that she found out that there were two radiation oncologists and that they were men.

“I found out that KNH had a good number of staff in other specialities, so I had to choose a ‘rare’ course as my senior colleagues at UON advised me. I looked around and I knew where I could fit in. I worked in the private wing and later joined the cancer centre,” she tells the paper.

Katherine was lucky. She qualified for a scholarship from the International Atomic Energy Agency through the National Council for Science and Technology.

She went to study for her degree in Master in Medicine at Witwatersrand in South Africa and afterwards a Fellowship at College of Radiation Oncologists of South Africa.

She is now a consultant oncologist at the KNH.

The oncologist starts as early as 5am. She does her daily rounds in different hospitals around Nairobi including Mater, Nairobi West, Nairobi South, Mariakani, Nairobi Hospital then finally to KNH. Afterwards, she goes to Texas Cancer Centre, a facility she started four years ago (June 2010).

“In a day, I see about or more than 100 patients. Since oncologists are few, there is a lot of work to do and sometimes I do burn out. There are days I don’t get enough time to spend with my family,” she says.

With the current war against cancer Ms. Nyongesa is glad that she has an opportunity to touch and save lives.

She however adds that being the first and only female radiation oncologist in the country is not easy.

“It can be overwhelming though because that means there is a lot of work to do. It is difficult whenever I lose a patient. Some patients are lively and I develop a special bond with them. There are some situations that haunt me to date”

Katherine has also put up a radiotherapy centre on Mbagathi Way.

“I hope that in future, we can have more cancer centres and save lives in Kenya and within the region,” she says.

“It is very hard. Friends keep telling me that I need counseling because I deal with a lot of difficult stuff. However, my dream and passion to make a notable difference in someone else’s life is my main drive,” says Katherine, who describes herself as down-to-earth and ambitious.

Courtesy: The Standard

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