“The thing with cancer, it has become the IT disease…the bigger the issue, the more attention you give me. If it is a cough, everyone gets a cough, but if I get pneumonia, and you are my friend, you will call me. Who gets most attention? Cancer is the biggest lie I have told…It is a high…” said Patricia Warugi during her confession.
For six years, her friends, family and former colleagues knew she had successfully battled cancer. She even sat down and was interviewed as a cancer survivor by K24 TV’s Anjlee Gadhvi.
Gadhvi sought to interview her as part of a series showcasing cancer survivors, to show there is hope for the many who are going through treatment or have been diagnosed with the deadly disease.
But days before Gadhvi’s story was to go on air, Warugi called, asking her not to run the story.
It was in the second interview that she dropped the bombshell, that her cancer story had been a lie just for sympathy.
Following the confession, Gandhvi had to change the title of her story from ‘cancer thriver’ to ‘cancer lie.’
“The bigger the issue, the more attention you give me. Someone with cancer will get more sympathy,” said Warugi in her confession.
The six-year lie
In her first interview, Warugi said that an abnormality in her menstrual cycle prompted her to see a gynecologist, and after several tests, she was found to have cancer.
“Six years ago…why that time is memorable in my life, I had my periods continuously for four months since December 2012,” said Warugi.
She said tests confirmed that she had polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), a hormonal disorder common among women of reproductive age.
Women with PCOS may have infrequent or prolonged menstrual periods or excess male hormone (androgen) levels.
The ovaries may develop numerous small collections of fluid (follicles) and fail to regularly release eggs.
“I had so many in my system that they needed surgery to remove them…they removed one polyp, they checked and it came back cancerous…Funny thing is I never took it as seriously as I should. The doctors got it early and the doctors were very positive. It didn’t shock me. What shook me were reactions, the obstacles and bumps during my treatment,” said Warugi in her first interview.
At the workplace, Warugi was even allowed to report late or miss work for days because she claimed she had gone for her chemotherapy treatment.
‘Side effects’
“The first day (after the treatment), my mother was helping me…You don’t even have the energy to comprehend what is happening, you feel death, the taste of metal in your mouth, you want to vomit…it is horrible,” narrated Warugi of her fake cancer treatment.
Warugi said that she even cancelled her wedding but her former human resource officer told her to go ahead with the event, because she needed something to look forward to.
She said that during her honeymoon, she underwent chemotherapy for three weeks, during which she was informed that she could not get pregnant and that she needed a kidney transplant.
After consulting her oncologist, the doctor advised her to check whether she was pregnant, a test that was positive.
Nephrologist meeting
The nephrologist advised her to terminate the pregnancy.
“I refused to terminate the pregnancy…this was my miracle. All the doctors agreed with my nephrologist so I decided we needed a fourth opinion. So we went to India,” said Warugi.
Here is the full interview:
