Commissioning of Western Kenya Cancer Care and Research Center at JOOTRH in Kisumu By The Principal Secretary, State Department for Higher Education and Research
The Western Kenya Cancer Care and Research Center (WKCCRC).
The recently commissioned Western Kenya Cancer Care and Research Center (WKCCRC) located at the Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital is a project supported by the Government of Kenya through National Research Fund under the infrastructure category with the objective to: (a) conduct cutting edge, demand-driven research in human cancers, (b) provide specialized diagnosis and support and (c) mentor a critical pool of emerging researchers to lead and sustain cancer research in Kenya and beyond.
As envisaged at the project conception phase, the Dr. Benson Nyambega led WKCCRC project will serve to complement routine clinical screening services in the region and plug in specialized diagnostic needs while also conducting need-driven cutting edge research. JOOTRH remains a critical partner and the present day Oncology unit and the upcoming Kisumu Comprehensive Cancer Care (K3C) will be handling the cancer care component.
As part of the WKCCRC’s journey towards sustainability, additional funding for research has been granted to Dr. Nyambega from BIO Ventures for Global Health within the framework of the African Consortium for Cancer Clinical Trials (AC3T). An African Early Stage Investigator (ESI) support has also been obtained from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) for a study focused on identifying the Biological Determinants of Quality of Life Among Prostate Cancer (CaP) Survivors in Kenya, Nigeria and the USA.
