Life without breasts is hard for any woman. 80% of women in rural Kenya are diagnosed with late stage breast cancer, ending in mastectomy. Given the high costs of mastectomy bras and breast prostheses in Kenya ($200-$300), it is unaffordable for these women who have already incurred the hefty treatment costs. Therefore they resort to using rags, socks etc in place of a prosthesis. This project will distribute 341 breast prostheses and mastectomy bras to deserving women in rural Kenya.
Every hour 2 women are diagnosed with breast cancer in Kenya. 80% of them are diagnosed in the late stages and end up undergoing mastectomy. In rural Kenya where cancer awareness is low, life without a breast becomes difficult for these women, who face challenges such as stigma, low self esteem, divorce, segregation and interruption of livelihoods. Given the high costs of acquiring breast prostheses and mastectomy bras in Kenya, many of women resort to using rags, tissues and socks.
We received a donation 341 breast prostheses and mastectomy bras from Dianne's Mastectomy, from Canada. This is the second donation which will go towards deserving rural Kenya women. Through this project we hope to use the voices of these survivors to champion the importance of awareness, regular screening and early detection of breast cancer in reducing the number of mastectomy cases.
These women will be able to regain their lost self-esteem and reintegrate back fully into their communities, thereby enabling them to seize and explore opportunities towards sustaining their livelihoods and those of their families.
This project has provided additional documentation in a DOCX file (projdoc.docx).
