When Kelly Sitambasi was first diagnosed with cancer, she was just a child preparing for her KCPE exams. "I remember trying to go to school but ending up back home because I was too unwell to stay in class," she recalls. "I started chemotherapy while still preparing for my exams and I was terrified." That terror was deepened not only by the uncertainty of her illness but also by the loneliness. "I told my classmates and my best friend, who is still my friend to this day and I just remember feeling so scared.
I didn't know what that meant for me." But it was her return to treatment in 2017 that truly reshaped her life.
Admitted to a public hospital, she found herself face to face with a broken healthcare system. "This is the first time I ever saw someone lose their last breath," she says. "I remember crying so much to my doctor, asking what if I was next?" That fear became a spark. "It was no longer just about beating this, but about making sure no woman had to go through what I did, especially in silence." From that experience, two powerful platforms were born: The Kenyan Feminine Goddess, an online space for healing and dialogue and the Goddess Care Initiative, a grassroots project focused on health aid and education for underserved women.
Her battle with cancer was marked by more than just medical treatment; it was an emotional war. "The fear came in waves," she says. "Especially after witnessing someone pass away in the ward for the first time.
