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Claim: The Africa Cancer Foundation is giving free breast cancer treatment
Verdict: False. While the Africa Cancer Foundation provided free breast cancer treatment in 2022, it is no longer offering this service. The viral WhatsApp message is an adaptation of the foundation’s 2022 message.
Full Text
Cancer, a leading cause of death worldwide, continues to be at the centre of misinformation with several cure promises. Little wonder the message that a foundation was offering free breast cancer treatment took flight in January 2026.
The message, accompanied by an image of breast cancer, revealed that the foundation will cover all medical expenses for patients who reach out. “… Please, if you know any lady battling BREAST CANCER of whatever stage, please advise her to contact Dorothy@africacancerfoundation.org. All medical expenses are free,” part of the message reads.
The message also urged users to share and forward to groups to save a woman’s life.
In the bid to spread the message and get help to as many as might need it, many shared their statuses and even forwarded them to loved ones. This message, however, was flagged as suspicious, prompting us to investigate and prevent any misinformation.
Verification
We first observed that the email address (dorothy@africacancerfoundation.org) shared in the message contained the name ‘Dorothy’ and the name of a foundation, ‘Africa Cancer Foundation.’ We looked up the email address in this message, which led us to the Africa Cancer Foundation team section on the website.
This website revealed that Dorothy Nyong’o, whose name was on the shared email address, is the Managing Trustee of Africa Cancer Foundation. She is also the First Lady of Kisumu County and Director of 7th Sense Communications Limited.
We also examined the foundation and its principles. We discovered that Africa Cancer Foundation (ACF) was formed on Apr. 6, 2011, as a charitable trust, and launched on Jul. 12, 2011, in Nairobi, Kenya. ACF works towards a cancer-free Africa by promoting the prevention of cancer and providing holistic solutions for people affected by cancer in Africa.
We also found a press statement on the Foundation’s website from 2024 debunking a similar message that had gone viral in 2024. ACF noted that its offer expired in March 2022 and that it is no longer offering free breast cancer treatment due to funding constraints.
We also scanned through ACF social media (X, Facebook, and Instagram) for any new announcements on free breast cancer treatment, but found none.
On ACF’s Facebook page, we also found a post debunking another version of the message that was recirculated in January 2025.
Conclusion
The claim that the Africa Cancer Foundation is offering free breast cancer treatment in 2026 is false. While the foundation provided free breast cancer treatment in 2022, it is not currently offering any. The viral WhatsApp message is an adaptation of the foundation’s 2022 message.
