Musaazi NAMITI | SUNDAY THOUGHT
Humans have any number of diseases afflicting them and stealing their lives. But cancer seems to be in its own league.
On August 27, it cut short the life of Tooro’s king, Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV. He was only 34. The king is only a tip of the iceberg. Millions succumb to this disease every year, according to the World Health Organisation.
Cancer is fiendishly difficult to treat, especially if it is at an advanced stage. Its treatment is also prohibitively expensive.
For people who believe that God created humans and loves them unconditionally, cancer is hard to reconcile with that belief.
The more you think about cancer treatment, the harder it becomes to believe that a loving God, who cares about people he created, can unleash such suffering on them.
Consider this: On August 31, the New York Times published a story about a new cancer drug made by Revolution Medicines, and the paper reported it has a sticker price of about $480,000 (shs1.8bn) a year, or $663 (shs2.3m) a tablet.
A daily pill for gastrointestinal cancer, the Times went on, has a sticker price of $520,000 (shs1.9bn) a year. A twice-daily pill for leukemia? It’s $430,000 (shs1.6bn) a year.
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Sticker prices do not necessarily mean patients or their insurers have to pay the exact amounts. The prices reflect the starting point for negotiations, and the amount paid could be lower. But the Times reported that while the prices of diabetes and autoimmune drugs can reduce significantly, “the final price for cancer drugs is typically only slightly lower than the sticker price”.
That means that a cancer patient has to contend with not just pain and the side effects that come with treatment—to say nothing of the constant worry about death—they also have to secure oodles of money for treatment.
And you have to wonder: Why would a loving God let anyone get cancer, for which treatment requires hundreds of millions of shillings, then stand idly by as the patient, family and friends try to save the patient’s life?
Cancer symptoms often remain hidden until the disease is advanced. And when it is advanced, it claims lives. This means cancer was specifically created to kill people.
Now imagine the double whammy: You have spent a billion shillings treating a cancer patient and you have lost the patient. Can you really say God loves/cares about you?
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🔴 Sunday Thought cuts through the noise of prayer, piety and superstition to ask the questions most people avoid. It discusses God, faith and religion—not to preach, but to probe, challenge and sometimes unsettle. Whether you believe, doubt or have stopped looking altogether, Sunday Thought will make you think, question and maybe even rethink everything you thought you knew about the divine—and about life itself.