The doctor notes by the very nature of who they are, nuns are predisposed to particular cancers, particularly cancer of the breast and cancer of the endometrium, which affects the wall of the womb.
"Cancer of the breast, apart from people who are on hormones is also a cancer of those who do not breastfeed.
Nuns do not get children and cancer of the breast has thus been a problem for them traditionally. Cancer of the endometrium is also a main problem among women who do not have children and nuns do not have children," Karanja explains.
He affirms that by virtue of their calling, nuns are informed that they are prone to these two cancers before they enter the convent. "They are let to know that the life they have chosen exposes them to some of these issues," he says.
To avert the high cancer death rate, the doctor calls on society to stop advertising sex as entertainment and availing contraceptives to children.