I'm a princess wearing God's crown and working for His glory - Cancer survivor Janet Kanini

Janet Kanini Ikua is more than a cancer survivor. She is a woman on a mission and she is not afraid to go against the grain. Janet is currently embracing alternative complimentary treatment and will be launching her Kanini For Africa Foundation next month.

After almost four weeks of scheduling we are finally seated in her humble, cluttered living room. You can tell children live here. Later she tells me her family has been at this same address for over six years. She is sipping a concoction of herbal juices.

Janet's story is well-documented so rather than go over old news I just want to know how she is doing. "I am fantastic," she says with her signature made-for-TV smile, "just a little cough but that's because I have been busy from the first of this month."

This is understandable because October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and for Janet and other survivors that means gigs, talks and workshops. How has she managed to be this bubbly? "By the grace of God!" she says.
Janet gets emotional telling me how at first she was angry and then afraid but eventually she accepted her calling to raise awareness and support other cancer warriors.

Rather than call cancer a curse, Janet says that it saved her life and moved her closer to God. "I am now a princess wearing God's crown and working for His glory," says the mother of two.

I notice that she hasn't had anything to eat but has drunk a lot of fresh juice. When I wonder about this she begins with a question. "Do you know how much more nutrients you get from a glass of carrot juice?" I don't so we discuss her new approach at length.

Janet, other likeminded survivors and friends of nature will soon be starting a 28-day juice fast. Animatedly, she explains how nature has the answers to every ailment. "Just before you arrived I was munching on oranges and ginger to help with the cough," she confesses. "And I have realised that lemon can cure almost everything!"

I notice a beautiful photo of Janet and her parents on her wedding day and ask about her beloved father. "He was my hero and this disease led me to walk his path," she begins.

Janet's dad suffered and succumbed to lung cancer and it was not until Janet herself was diagnosed that she really understood what he went through. "I was never vocal about cancer, actually I ran away from the subject because it brought me to tears but now I am on the front line. Now I understand Daddy's pain and how he bore it with grace," she says.

Janet is still wearing her anti-thrombotic stockings. She says that her case of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) was not typical. Usually, within six to 12 months, DVT disappears (sometimes it recurs). But Janet is still dealing with it even after going to India for treatment. It was in India that doctors discovered that she had stage four lung cancer. If she had relied on local expertise she would have undergone numerous invasive procedures just to reach a conclusive diagnosis.

"There is a machine that takes many Kenyans to India - the PET MRI scanner," she explains. It uses radiation to get an amazingly accurate picture of the internal workings of the body, so that you scan the entire body at a go. If I had stayed in Nairobi I would have gone in and out of CT scans, MRIs and ultrasounds which would have meant a lot of money, time and uncertainty."

After months spent in India, Janet returned home and this year in March was declared cancer free. "I saw the hand of God and I give him all the glory," she says.

Now Janet is on a mission. Not only is she at the helm of the Kanini for Africa Foundation but she has teamed up with a local production house to host an inspirational talk show. "I feel that I owe the world and that I can make positive change. I have survived to be an ambassador."

Is she scared that the cancer may recur? "Of course! There is always that hanging threat that it may recur but who am I not to believe my God? I know I am cured!"

As I prepare to leave Janet, Jadudi (the young man from Kisumu) calls and Janet joins in our conversation, promising to see him at an upcoming survivor's gala. I am in awe...these are not victims they are victors who in spite seemingly insurmountable odds, have chosen to soar and shine.