Diagnosed with cancer at 18 and how he beat it by 20
Lewis Gichane, the CEO and co-founder of an online shopping platform, Shopbeast, is too familiar with hospital visits.
“It wasn’t frequent, but I had been in and out of hospitals for a few conditions.
However, in Form Four in 2014, I was not in good shape and we went in for a totally unrelated condition, I was referred to Nairobi Hospital after the doctor noted I had an irregular heartbeat on top of a mass they found,” he says.
The huge mass, which pressed into his heart and caused the irregular heartbeat, was cancerous.
“I could only tell all was not well from the dakatri’s tone and look on my parents’ faces,” he adds.
Emotionally, he was not shaken as he had not yet understood the consequences of the tumour.
He was diagnosed with large B cell non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, cancer which originates from the lymphatic system.
Fortunately for Lewis, he had insurance. “I had cover and we began the treatment.
I remember I couldn’t attend school regularly because sometimes the medicines took a toll on my body.
The cycles of chemotherapy and radiotherapy were not a walk in the park,” he recalls.
During that period, Lewis admits patients throw in the towel because of hopelessness. “Not having the will to fight comes from stigma associated with cancer.
People begin to treat you as though you are dying, but I’m glad my friends and family gave me hope. I had that privilege,” he said.
Lewis said he was not treated like an egg. “They let me go on with my life even though the chemo took a toll on me.
It helped that I was in a day school. My school had a priest, who was my friend. He was someone I could talk to candidly, and my close friends and family really helped,” says Lewis.
In between his fight with the menace, Lewis revealed his family installed a basketball court at home.
“Yes I had low energy levels, but sports had a way of putting the mind to rest.
I would shoot hoops with friends and my sister, take walks and even jog or run as I previously did. The only difference was the intensity,” he said.
His sister, who was winding up with university, came home over the weekends to hang out with him.
“The very supportive ecosystem went a long way and I noticed my friends did not hang out with me out of pity.
They were around even on days I did not go to school. It kept my mind off my treatment,” he adds.
The same year in December, he and his mother went to India for treatment. “We left the rest of my family at home and my mother became my primary caregiver and knew the ins and outs of the disease,” Lewis says.
His mother went all out to take care of him. “She was still working, but found a way to make me the required raw juices and vegetables.
At the time, I was doing my KCSE exams and, my family gave me the optimism I needed. In fact, I performed really well; I scored a B,” he explains.
The treatment was successful. “In January 2015, I was cleared of cancer. I was glad because I knew I didn’t have to go through the tests.
You know, when you are being treated, the hospital becomes a second home and I was glad it was over. I was free,” says the 2019 JKUAT graduate.
