How Catherine Watta broke barriers to become first Kenyan woman oncologist
Written by Phenny Waga on March 7, 2024
She is a woman of many hats; daughter, mother of three, wife, oncologist, entrepreneur and lecturer.
She is proud to be the first female radiation oncologist in Kenya.
Motivated by the pain of her younger sister who was suffering from uterine cancer, she started Cancer Texas Centre to bring hope to many people battling various types of cancer.
This is the story of Dr. Catherine Nyongesa-Watta, 54.
”Being the first female radiation oncologist makes me proud. It just shows that you can break barriers irrespective of your background as long as you are determined and work hard,” she said as we sat down for an interview.
Dr Watta is the eldest child in the family of 10. Her parents were teenagers when she was born. Her mother was 13. This, she said, represents the ‘Triple Threat’ challenge that we face today.
”My mother dropped out of school because of the pregnancy. She could not secure a job anywhere. She suffered GBV. She endured physical and verbal abuse so that her children could have a future,” Dr Watta narrated.
Her mother eventually died and she now had to shoulder the responsibility of looking after her siblings. This is what inspired her to work hard in school.
She was determined to break the curse of her mother not progressing in school.
Watta completed her primary education and joined Misikhu Girls in Bungoma County.
She later joined the University of Nairobi where she secured a scholarship to go study at the University of Witwatersrand in South Africa.
As she was doing her undergraduate in medicine, cancer hit home. Her younger sister was diagnosed with cancer.
”I used to take care of her. We walked around in search of an oncologist to attend to her. We could rarely find one,” she said.
The pain of her sister is what pushed her to start the Cancer Texas Centre in 2010. Her aim was to be actively involved in bridging the existing cancer care gap in Kenya.
”It takes all of us and when we unite things work better. I needed to contribute to my country; the country that allowed me to study medicine,” Dr Watta explained.
As the cancer burden continues to be heavy for Kenya, the facility serves at least 3,000 new cancer patients annually.
In 2020, the Ministry of Health said Kenya reported 42,000 new cancer cases and 27,000 cancer-related deaths.
As International Women’s Day is marked on March 8, it will be fair enough to say that Dr Catherine Nyongesa-Watta has made a difference in impacting lives despite her background
