Sitting in biology classes in secondary school ignited a passion in Dr Abeid Athman that led him to join medical school.
He was equally good in mathematics, physics and football, but medicine course was the destination.
What’s more, Dr Athman saw two young men close to him struggle with leukaemia (a form of blood cancer), needing treatment abroad because there was limited expertise and equipment in Kenya.
Those factors shaped his choices: first, to study medicine and, second, to specialise in cancer treatment.
"There’s no limit. I didn’t go to a ‘group of schools’ in primary, but through hard work, dedication and determination, I managed to perform very well then went to a very good high school."
A sad note in his story is that the biology teacher who made him love the science of life and the two leukaemia patients whose suffering he witnessed – one a friend and the other his cousin – are now dead.
However, the good news is that Dr Athman is now a spirited clinical oncologist, trained in Ukraine and Egypt while interning in Kenya, determined to ensure that Kenyans will not need to travel abroad for cancer treatment.
“Four or five years ago, everyone had to travel abroad, either to India, Europe or any other country [for specialised cancer treatment]. But the number of people travelling abroad has come down,” he says, attributing this to the growing number of experts in the field and the investment made by hospitals like KUTRRH, where he has been since 2022.
As a clinical oncologist trained at the Alexandria University in Egypt, he cites two abilities: “I can see patients who need radiation and I can also see patients who need the medical part of oncology.”
For his Master’s at Alexandria University, he focused on breast cancer in young women.
“At KUTRRH, we see all kinds of patients. However, I have a strong passion for breast cancer, in particular breast cancer in young women, onco-fertility, onco-sexuality, and survivorship. Besides breast cancer, I have a special interest in lung cancer and prostate cancer.”
The Master’s project led him to an area he is actively involved in — how young women who undergo breast cancer treatment can continue having children.
“We know that chemotherapy causes a lot of harm, especially to the ovaries. It destroys the ovaries; what we call premature ovarian failure. Once a woman has premature ovarian failure, it means the reserve is depleted. The chances of her becoming pregnant end,” he says.
However, there are various methods of preserving ovaries, some that are quite expensive. The glimmer of hope is that there is a drug which has posted good results in terms of preserving patients’ ovaries.
“We hope we can bring more hope to these young women for them to have children in the future. In my clinic, when I talk about breast cancer to young women, I must bring this topic: if they’re interested in having more children. Then we discuss with them the ovarian preservation method which they can afford. And we go through the journey together. We are seeing some of them are doing quite well with this kind of method. So, we are very optimistic that we are going to make a change in these young women,” he says.
Dr Athman is married with three children. He schooled at Kilifi Primary School then joined Sheikh Khalifa School for his secondary education. Afterwards, he headed to Lugansk State Medical University in Ukraine to study medicine.
He was almost done with his Master’s at Lugansk but was forced to return home in 2014 as the Russia-Ukraine conflict simmered. He had to complete his medical studies at Alexandria on a government scholarship.
In the interlude between Kenya and Egypt, he interned at the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret.
“There’s no limit. Personally, I went to a government school. I didn’t go to ‘a group of schools’ in my primary school, but through hard work, dedication and determination, I managed to perform very well then went to a very good high school,” he tells the younger generation.
-Elvis Ondieki