Sultana actress Winnie Bwire, who is battling metastatic breast cancer, opened up about the journey leading to her diagnosis and the battles she has fought afterwards.
Bwire on Friday evening March 1, 2024, appeared on a local TV station via a video link as she is currently in Turkey undergoing cancer treatment.
During the interview, the Sultana actress recalled how chronic pain in the armpit during menstrual cycle made her undergo a biopsy that detected cancerous cells in her body.
Following the cancer diagnosis, Bwire imagined she would be fired from the TV series ‘Sultana’ where she played ‘Dida’.
The actress thought she would lose her role because of the fear of chemotherapy – a drug treatment that uses powerful chemicals to kill fast-growing cancerous cells in the body.
The common side effects of chemotherapy include; fatigue, hair loss, loss of appetite, numbness in the hands and feet among others.
“I thought I was going to be fired. I did not think I could shoot Sultana and still receive medication because of the brainwashing concept on chemotherapy and cancer,” she said.
Bwire managed to continue casting for Sultana but her situation got worse after the curtain came down on the TV show.
The actress underwent a Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scan which details 3-dimensional images of the inside of the body.
PET scan images can clearly show the part of the body being investigated, including any abnormal areas, and can highlight how well certain functions of the body are working.
The results of the PET scan showed that the cancerous cells in Bwire’s body had spread to other organs including the brain, bones and the breast.
Upon advice from the doctor, she began radiotherapy on the brain and put the breast on hold.
Radiation therapy is a type of cancer treatment that uses beams of intense energy to kill cancer cells.
Doctors prioritized brain radiotherapy because cancerous cells in the brain interfere with balance and coordination, which could cause dire consequences.
“My doctor suggested that we should first deal with the one in the brain because it interferes with the quality of life. Prior to realizing that the cancerous cells had spread, I had certain symptoms like my brain did not coordinate very well, I had constant headaches, and vomiting a lot,” Bwire narrated.
Treatment in Turkey
Winnie Bwire additionally disclosed that she decided to seek treatment from a hospital in Turkey because she felt that her case was mismanaged back home in Kenya.
“My treatment was slightly mishandled, so the family opted to get outside help and consultations. By the time they started taking the illness seriously, the disease was too far gone, that was when we decided to get treatment outside. We were referred to Acibadem Hospital in Turkey,” she said.
The actress noted that she has seen significant improvement since she began her treatment in Turkey on February 26, 2024.
Bwire in December 2023, appealed to well-wishers for Ksh7 million to facilitate her travel overseas to secure the treatment that she said would potentially save her life.
