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Tag: breast cancer

  • Club holds lecture on breast cancer

    A philanthropic organisation, Ultimate Circle Club, will, tomorrow hold a lecture on breast cancer.

    With the theme: “Breast cancer: scourge of womanhood”, it holds at Westown Hotel, Ikeja in Lagos. The lecture is part of activities to mark the club’s 30th anniversary.

    A statement by Chairman of the Anniversary Committee Dr. Olawale Oduwole said: “Breast cancer has become a major health challenge in Africa and Nigeria, such that there is no amount of lecture, training, education and awareness that can be enough.

    Read also: NEITI’s audit report puts NNPC on the spot

    “Chairman of the event is Prof. Chris Bode of Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH); Prof. SNC Anyanwu is the guest lecturer.  The special guest of honour is Senator Gbenga Ashafa.”

     

  • Curbing breast cancer

    One of the many paradoxes that characterise breast cancer is the fact that its curative therapies cause almost as much pain and distress as the ailment itself. The recent announcement of a new discovery which will substantially reduce the number of patients needing chemotherapy is very welcome news.

    A phase-3 clinical trial called TAILORx, carried out on 10,253 women aged between 17 and 85 in the United States, Canada, Peru, Australia and New Zealand since 2006 shows that many women with early-stage breast cancer who would normally be recommended for chemotherapy do not, in fact, need it. This finding will spare thousands of women the side-effects of a treatment method which includes nausea and hair-loss, and can lead to heart and nerve damage, as well as the risk of leukaemia later in life.

    Breast cancer is one of the most common forms of cancer, and refers to a malignant growth in the tissues of the breast. It is usually found in women, but can make rare appearances in men. Cancer is responsible for nearly one in every six deaths worldwide. About 14 million people develop it every year, a sobering statistic that is expected to rise to 21 million annually by 2030.

    In Nigeria, some 100,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer every year, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), and about 80,000 die of it annually. This death ratio of 4 in 5 is one of the worst in the world.

    To further aggravate an already-terrible situation, cancer control strategies such as prevention and early diagnosis are relatively unknown in the country, to say nothing of more advanced treatments like chemotherapy and endocrine therapy.

    Breast self-examination (BSE), in which women carry out simple routine checks for unusual lumps or alterations in shape on their breasts, has not been fully integrated into the primary healthcare process. Far too many hospitals lack the capacity to undertake the mammograms which are crucial in the early detection of breast cancer that is vital to its successful treatment.

    For a nation struggling with a host of infectious diseases, as well as very high infant and maternal mortality rates, this apparently willful refusal to seriously confront the breast cancer menace is inexplicable. Its high fatality rates, the prohibitive cost of treatment, and the fact that it targets women has resulted in the devastation of families across the nation, regardless of social class, ethnicity or religion. Increasing lifestyle changes are very likely to result in even more women contracting the disease, turning what is already a healthcare emergency into a full-blown crisis.

    If Nigeria is to properly address the looming disaster that is breast cancer, it will require nothing less than a complete overhaul of current attitudes, infrastructure and public enlightenment methods.

    The ridiculous and outdated notions of modesty which continue to hamper honest and open discussion of breast cancer must cease. It makes little sense to hide behind mythical cultural beliefs to block open dialogue on an issue that is so crucial to the wellbeing of the nation’s women.

    Allied to this is the re-launching of vigorous and comprehensive enlightenment campaigns aimed at educating the populace on what breast cancer is and what its symptoms are. As the most cost-effective element in combatting the disease, there is no reason why it cannot be effectively put into action.

    The country’s healthcare infrastructure must be comprehensively re-tooled to confront breast cancer. This means properly equipping secondary and tertiary healthcare institutions, training more medical professionals in oncology, and creating opportunities for beneficial cooperation with the thousands of Nigerian doctors and nurses working abroad. Health insurance must be overhauled to make it more widespread and better able to cover the cost of cancer treatment.

    The country’s elite must be encouraged to contribute to the funding of cancer research and the establishment of treatment centres, instead of engaging in mindless and offensive displays of wealth.

    Cancer is a harsh reality. The sooner it is comprehensively confronted, the better it will be for Nigeria.

     

     

  • ‘How I survived breast cancer’

    A 56-year-old breast cancer survivor, Mrs. Oluwakemi (surname withheld), has relived how she survived.

    Oluwakemi, a mother of four, said she was diagnosed with cancer after the discovery of  certain irregularities on the left side of her breast, which led to severe pains on her left hand.

    She said: “It came as a shock because I knew nothing about cancer and how it affects women. I used to believe it is not for the poor.”

    The woman added: “When I realised that I had breast cancer after a scan detected it, I was told by my doctor that I would have to undergo operation, but because of fear, coupled with ignorance, I ignorantly consulted a fake doctor, who told me that I didn’t need an operation. He assured me that he had an injection that cured cancer, which I believed because I never wanted an operation. I received four injections from him within a month, and each cost N30,000, but there were no changes. In fact, my condition worsened.”

    She said she later met another doctor, who told her that the only way out was through an operation.

    “I cannot stop thanking God, who opened my eyes and made my family to take me to a doctor for proper treatment. It was after the doctor’s diagnosis that I agreed to undergo the operation, which was successful by God’s grace,” Oluwakemi said.

    She said while undergoing chemotherapy, she educated other women on the danger of breast cancer.

    “Many fall victim due to ignorance and some die due to continuity of ignorance. I survived because I stopped being ignorant by taking genuine doctor’s advice.”

  • A world without breast cancer

    Arguably Nigeria’s most flamboyant First Lady, Maryam Babangida’s death in Los Angeles, United States, in December 2009, jolted many; though her husband had lost power as the country’s leader some 16 years earlier. During her time at the presidential villa in Lagos and Abuja, she was credited with bringing glamour to the First Lady’s office with her famed Better Life for Rural Women programme, aimed at alleviating the plight of women on the wrong end of the ladder in the society.

    Mrs. Babangida was believed to have succumbed to the trauma of ovarian cancer after years of battling the wicked maladie.

    Asides the former First Lady, few notable Nigerian women have fallen victims to various cancerous diseases. Renowned for her daring exploits as Director-General of the National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Prof. Dora Akunyili painfully struggled with cancer which withered her once-glowing broad physique and subdued her ever charming smile. In March 2014, the highly revered professor of pharmacology and Nigeria’s former minister of information could barely be recognized by many when she appeared as delegate to the National Conference, held in Abuja. That, incidentally, was Dora’s last public outing as she gave up the ghost few weeks after in far away India.

    Few weeks ago, a member of the House of Representatives from Kwara State, Funke Adedoyin, was pronounced dead. Sources close to the federal legislator revealed that she had suffered, protractedly, from an undisclosed form of cancer. Similarly, Clara, wife of the then Edo State governor, Adams Oshiomhole, reportedly died from complications arising from breast cancer treatment in December, 2010, few days to her daughter’s wedding.

    Emotionally hurting as it is, to have lost these delectable mothers to a single course, one must be mindful that many others may, still, be claimed by the disease as we move on while searching for a lasting antidote.

    Available statistics show that breast cancer is the commonest cancer among women worldwide with 1.38million new cases each year. According to a report by the American Cancer Society, “more than 3.5million US women with a history of breast cancer are alive on January 1, 2016.” In a 2014 report, the World Health Organization (WHO) put the number of deaths from breast cancer in Nigeria at 13,264 annually, making it the highest among deaths from cancers. It is, of course, more worrying that Africa seems to be particularly suffering from what looks like a ravaging flux of cancer diseases, especially among women, due, largely, to the developing status of many of her countries. This represents an unfavourable commentary to an alarming scenario.

    It is in the light of the recognition of how deadly breast cancer has become and the need to wage an enlightened war against it that the WHO earmarked every October as ‘Breast Cancer Awareness Month.’ This underlines the critical place of public education and continuous advocacy in direct relation to early detection as surest way of combating this brutal agent of death.

    Decades of works by researchers have yielded little success as cancer generally remains untreatable (by orthodox medicine) with available drugs only capable of containing its spread. Nonetheless, it is worthy of note that, there are few things which would go some mileage in mitigating the potency of cancer scourge worldwide.

    To begin with, stigmatization has been identified as occupying the heart of the crisis since many societies not only attach unfounded mystical beliefs to cancer, but also see it as death sentence on sufferers. Using her social media platforms, America’s Tennis Grand Slam serial winner, Serena Williams recently released a cover of The Divinyls’ hit song, I Touch Myself to further attract attention to the need for joint efforts against cancer, globally. Talking of the motivation behind her coming out nude in the musical video, Serena explained thus, “Yes, this put me out of my comfort zone, but I wanted to do it because it’s an issue that affects all women of all colours, all around the world.”

    It is heart-warming that Serena is not alone in this campaign. Back in Nigeria, wife of Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State, Betty, is a leading campaigner against breast cancer in Nigeria. Her story is specifically appealing since she survived the trauma of breast cancer two decades ago. Her message is simple: periodic test leads to early detection. In driving her laudable initiative, Mrs. Akeredolu founded the Breast Cancer Association of Nigeria (BRECAN), which provides help in terms of publicity through series of programmes and financial boost to patients. She sure needs the support of few more well-to-do individuals and corporate establishments to further project BRECAN to communities far beyond the Sunshine State.

    Another germane area that should receive utmost attention towards eradicating breast cancer globally is conscious improvement of available health facilities. This is of keen concern if one considers the poor – sometimes non-existing – health facilities in developing countries many of which domicile in Africa. Governments must also endeavour to decentralize access to breast cancer treatment such as chemotherapy and mastectomy which are, at the moment, only being prioritized at tertiary health institutions. The troubled Nigerian health system is a case study here.

    Speaking at a gathering of African First Ladies on the sidelines of the 73rd United Nations General Assembly, in New York, Rwandan President, Paul Kagame, who doubles as chair of African Union (AU), recommended specific gender-sensitive health policies, such as increase in number of female medical doctors, to counter the current neglect associated with women-prone diseases like breast cancer.

    In a rare gesture – which may henceforth become a yearly ritual -, the Islamabad residence of Dr. Arif Alvi, president of Pakistan, was lit in pink colour at a ceremony marking breast cancer awareness month, early October. It is believed that in a country with a record 90,000 new cases of breast cancer patients every year, Pakistan – where more than 10.2million women are at high risk of contracting the disease – has blazed the trail for others to follow.

    As we say byes to October, it is crucial to reiterate that the possibility of a future where breast cancer no longer cut short women’s lives seems only a wish in the immediate. Yet, brighter signs are on the horizon that, if the current synergy by key players is sustained, the days of savagery of this plaque would, one day, be condemned to a permanent terminus in the history of man.

     

    • Ajala, a freelance journalist, writes via ajalatravel07@gmail.com.

  • How I came by cancer cure recipe, by breast cancer survivor

    It’s Breast Cancer awareness month. Women, survivors and stakeholders are painting the town pink with lessons learnt over the years. Evelyn Okolie Okoloh, a Breast Cancer survivor of eight years turned wellness coach, shares her story of survival and how she is now helping others to survive with natural fruit recipes discovered her years of travail with Yetunde Oladeinde.

    It started like a big joke but before Evelyn Okolie Okoloh knew it, the reality hit her and family like thunderbolt. Surgery was the only way out and she was given a choice of doing it in Nigeria or abroad. “I decided to do it here because here you have family members and people to care for you. But abroad, you are almost on your own. I did the surgery on the 28th of December, 2010. I was still pregnant and it was in this condition that they discovered that I was expecting twins. They told me that they could manage the surgery with the pregnancy but not chemo with the pregnancy.”

    The surgery was done, and three days after, Evelyn was feeling homesick. However, her doctor, Professor Atoyebi did not let her go.

    “I am a very restless person; I can’t stay in one place. On the 30th of January, I gave birth to a set of twins, two boys. February, I started my chemotheraphy. I read a lot about what to expect and by the time I got to the doctor, I was well informed and everything went well.”

    To be double sure, she went to India for further check up. “We did all the necessary checks. I did cervical cancer check and everything. I was supposed to take the vaccine but when I checked my calculator, it was forty something thousand and I knew that the price was twenty five thousand Nigeria, so I did it when I came back.”

    She came back from India March, 2012. She didn’t travel alone. “I went with the doctor because my husband is this kind of person who wants the best for me. A month later, I discovered that I started feeling pains in my breast and chest. I told my husband who asked me if I hit it anywhere or if anything happened. Two weeks later, my breast and other parts of my body became black. I wasn’t breastfeeding and the babies were with my mum.”

    Suddenly, the spot where they removed her breast went black. Half of her tummy also went black. Panic set in and she ran back to the doctor in search of help. He asked her to do some test and she went to see an oncologist. “He was the one that handled my chemotherapy and he said they have to do another surgery, a bi-lateral surgery. That they would scrap the other breast and I said it would not happen.

    He called Prof and said he was sending his patient back to him. I went back to Prof and he wondered what went wrong because everything that needed to be done had been done. It was too soon, that the cancer was back aggressively. He said we would do the surgery and start the chemo all over again.”

    At this point, Evelyn asked if there was another option and he told her that they didn’t have time at all. “He said the earlier we did it, the better because at this stage anything can happen. It was very traumatic and I was working in a bank. I had to stop going to work. It was so bad that I could not drive. I could not even bend at all. When I lie on the bed, my husband used to carry me to the restroom. It was tough and my husband was crying. My mother and father also were really stressed and they kept asking me to reconsider the option and do the surgery.”

    On her part, Evelyn kept believing God for a miracle. She just didn’t want them to cut off her second breast. They kept asking me what kind of miracle I was looking for. I just believed that there should be other options for me, other options that nobody was talking about. They said, I should do chemo, I did. I went to India and they did scan and said there was no more cancer cell. So what now happened within two months?

    All hands were on deck and they tried to convince Evelyn to have a rethink. But she was resolute. “Sometimes, when you pray and believe God, HE will surely show up in your situation. My daughter was five years then and there is this lesson teacher that comes to teach her at home. Each time she came around, I normally came out to greet her.”

    The teacher noticed that Evelyn wasn’t coming out to greet her even though her car was parked outside. So she asked her daughter about her mum’s whereabout.

    “You know the way children are, she began with my mummy said I should not tell anyone, nobody knows that mummy is always inside the room. It is only my daddy and my aunty that goes in there.”

    Somehow, teacher defied pupil and stormed into the forbidden room. After the initial exchanges, she told Evelyn about the special recipe that saved her life. “My husband called the place in North Carolina and sent a mail. They wanted me to come but at that point, I didn’t want to go for another international trip. They told me about their representatives in Nigeria who asked me to get a juicer and they sent me the recipes. She told me that if I didn’t want to do chemo, I should do this with all my heart, pray and see what God would do.”

    Determined, Evelyn took ten to twelve bottles of different juices every day because she wasn’t eating at that point. “Like smoothie, juice has its own place and there was also salad. I was just doing it and by the time I did it for two weeks, I discovered that I could get up. I realised it was working and my husband employed someone who sourced the fruits and vegetables from Mile 12 every two days, using the recipe. I wanted to start work and when my mother saw me, she told everyone that I was okay and I could start work.”

    By the time Evelyn went for checkup, her doctors said everything had cleared. “Even the parts of my body that went black, cleared. If you touched the place then, it was like stone but with the therapy, everything cleared. I have been on the diet ever since and I must tell you that it has not been easy. I had to stop a lot of the things that I used to eat. I don’t eat fried foods, I don’t eat bread and I don’t take milk at all. Even my children don’t take them.”

    Interestingly, when Evelyn changed her diet, everyone in the house followed suit and it has been healthy lifestyle all the way. In addition, she now consults and helps other cancer patients with recipes and other support.

    “I just want to encourage women to go for check-up. Always check your breast to know if anything is wrong with your body. There was a time I saw my period; ordinarily because of what I have gone through, I am not supposed to see it because the chemotherapy would blocked it. As I speak to you, I am seeing my period; I am ovulating and afraid to get pregnant again. My advice to women is always check your body. You know your body more than any other person.”

    After all her experience, she finally went to North Carolina where the recipe came from, did a study and also went to another center in California all in search of information about breast cancer. “I have done a lot of studies and in all I discovered that nature is the cure. No matter what the doctor has said, if you can go back to nature, taking natural foods, your immunity improves. Of course, sicknesses would come, but you would be strong.”

    She adds: “One of my twins has not been sick; the day he vomited and we went to the hospital, they said he had malaria double plus and the doctor kept wondering why the boy was not feverish. This is because he has built his immunity.”

    Now you want to know the role her family played in all this and she replies this way: “Interestingly, when I was diagnosed of breast cancer, it was my husband who knew about it before me. He was the one that went to collect the laboratory result.

    “My husband was very supportive. He took charge of the kids and even when I was doing my chemo, he was very supportive. Then I was doing my chemo in Eko Hospital, the crowd was so much and he would go by 4am to write my name so that by the time I come in by ten or eleven, I would be attended to with little stress. My mum had to relocate from Asaba to Lagos. She helped to take care of the twins.”

    Today, she tells her story with nostalgia and the fact that she is alive motivates her on a daily basis. “It excites me and it is my major motivation. I must tell you that a lot of the people that were diagnosed the same time with me, that had the same challenge, are nowhere to be found. Also when the cancer came back the second time, I was able to reverse it through healthy lifestyle; so I just believe that if one can eat healthy, you would be strong and alive. We do not need to wait to be diagnosed with a particular illness before we start eating healthy.”

    Being alive and healthy, Evelyn says, is her testimony and major motivation for what she does at the moment.

    Now, she goes on to talk about her recipes; how she started and the lesson learnt in the process. “A lot has changed and it brings a lot of memories. When I started then, I could not walk, I was bedridden. I could not lift up any object, if something drops on the floor, I could not pick it. I had lost so much weight but when I started using the recipes, I became a lot better. Just before using the recipe, I was size 24 but now I am 18. A lot has happened, I feel better and I can do 8000 steps a day, do my exercise and I set a timer. I also do 10,000. I climb hills and these were a lot of the things that I could not do before I started the recipe. Sometimes, I feel so light and think that I want to fly.”

    Eight years after her ordeal, she conquered the breast cancer challenge and Evelyn is now a consultant to other people who now face the things she had gone through in the past. Today, she is so happy and fulfilled helping others to survive and live a healthy lifestyle.

    “In the next five years, I would like to be a household name, a brand that is associated with healthy foods and drinks; a brand that can counsel people about their health; a brand that stands out and does not compromise in standards. I also pray that Evesorganics would have been able to reach a lot of people. The rate at which I am going, I would like to drive out those selling fizzy drinks from the market by providing healthy alternatives, as well as sell them at reasonable and competitive prices that even the common man would be able to afford it. In addition, my desire is to make sure that the business is very structured. We would have branches across the country and outside the shores of Nigeria.”

    Ask her what she treasures most in life and her answer gets you reflecting and nodding: “What I treasure most in life is life. Maybe because of what I have gone through, I appreciate life so much. Being alive is all I need, that is what I pray for. Please keep me alive and all the other side hustle would fall in place.”

    Relaxation for Evelyn is another way of replacing lost energy. “I sleep and this helps a lot. Another way of relaxation for me is to travel out of the country. It doesn’t matter if I have the money or not, I will just do my window shopping. It feels good looking at beautiful things. That is one good way to relax the mind.”

     

  • SFH, Novartis Social School Business partner to fight diseases

    Society for Family Heath (SFH), a Non-Government Organisation (NGO) and Novartis Social School Business has partnered to fight cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes, respiratory illnesses and breast cancer.

    The collaboration which took place in Abuja last week permits SFH to distribute Novartis Access medicines to patients in some of its partnering health facilities and it would take place in eight states of Nigeria.

    As first treatments will start reaching patients in the upcoming months at a final cost of up to 2.21 dollar per month, SFH expects to possibly reach more than five million patients.

    Beyond distribution of medicines, SFH would also train healthcare professionals on NCD screening, diagnosis and treatment, quality assurance, provide community education and awareness.

    The Managing Director of SFH, Sir Bright Ekweremadu said that Nigeria is increasingly affected by the burden of non-communicable diseases as lifestyles and habits become more sedentary,  “We have been working  for more than 30 years to help Nigerians, particularly the  poor and most  vulnerable, to leave healthier lives including by improving  access to essential  health services. This collaboration with Novartis Social Business is part of the solution to the challenges of the poor who are most at risk of NCDs,” he said.

    According to the statement signed by Media Relations, SFH, Mr Donald Etim, cardiovascular diseases are the deadliest set of NCDs in Nigeria responsible for seven percent of deaths.

    Cancer accounts for three percent of deaths, diabetes accounts for two percent of deaths, chronic respiratory diseases account for one percent of deaths and other NCDs account for eleven percent.

    Dr. Omokhudu Idogho, Deputy Managing Director, Social Business Enterprise, said that since inception, SFH have conducted hundreds of programmes throughout the country in collaboration with both public and private partners in areas such as family planning, HIVmand AIDS, malaria,  tuberculosis, maternal and children health, “As part of our strong commitment  to achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC) in Nigeria, we  are working to  promote disease prevention, facilitate access to basic  healthcare and life-saving medicines in both urban and rural areas, conduct  health education  and awareness, and strengthen service capacity with key  focus on health care  facilities and workers. The partnership with Novartis Social  Business will help  us put our expertise and experience behind a programme that  will help poor populations get diagnosis and access to key medicines to treat chronic diseases in Nigeria, which are often responsible for catastrophic health expenditure,’’ he added.

    Dr. Parfait Touré, Head of the West and Central African cluster for Novartis Social Business said the company is pleased to help Nigerian patients manage their chronic conditions,  “We believe new approaches such as our Novartis Access portfolio that bring governments, the  private sector and social sector together are needed to  expand access to  medicines and healthcare delivery in our countries,’ he said.

    This collaboration places Nigeria in the fifth position as one of the countries in Africa after Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda and Cameroon to sign an agreement to distribute Novartis Access treatments against chronic diseases.

  • Fat women less likely to develop breast cancer – Study

    Young women with high body fat have a decreased chance of developing breast cancer before menopause, according to a study published in the journal JAMA Oncology.

    “It is well known that women who gain weight, particularly after menopause, carry an increased risk of postmenopausal breast cancer,” said Dale Sandler, the paper’s co-senior author.

    Sandler, is also head of the Epidemiology Branch at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, part of the National Institutes of Health.

    She said: “our finding that breast cancer risk is not increased in obese premenopausal women, and in fact decreases, points to the possibility that different biologic mechanisms are responsible for causing breast cancer in younger women.”

    Sandler and other researchers pooled data from 19 different studies, comprising 758,592 women from around the world.

    The participants ranged in age from 18 to 54 at the beginning of the study. Volunteers for each individual study filled out several rounds of questionnaires, which included height, weight, and other health-related factors.

    Read Also: Curbing breast cancer

    With this information, researchers evaluated the risk of developing breast cancer in relation to Body Mass Index (BMI) in the following age ranges: 18 to 24, 25 to 34, 35 to 44, and 45 to 54.

    BMI is a way to measure the amount of body fat.

    Overall, 13,082 participants, or 1.7 per cent, developed breast cancer during the observed time periods.

    The scientists determined that relative risk of premenopausal breast cancer was reduced 12 to 23 per cent for each five-unit increase in BMI, depending on age.

    According to the study, the strongest effect was seen in relation to BMI at ages 18 to 24, with very obese women in this age group being 4.2 times less likely to develop premenopausal breast cancer compared to women with low BMI at the same age.

    While Sandler and her colleagues are unsure why young, premenopausal women with a high BMI appear to be protected against breast cancer, she cautioned that young women should not intentionally gain weight to lower their breast cancer risk.

    “There are so many health risks associated with being overweight or obese,” Sandler said.

    “We still believe it is important for women to maintain a healthy weight throughout life.”

  • Curbing breast cancer

    •A new discovery increases chances of survival

    One of the many paradoxes that characterise breast cancer is the fact that its curative therapies cause almost as much pain and distress as the ailment itself. The recent announcement of a new discovery which will substantially reduce the number of patients needing chemotherapy is very welcome news.

    A phase-3 clinical trial called TAILORx, carried out on 10,253 women aged between 17 and 85 in the United States, Canada, Peru, Australia and New Zealand since 2006 shows that many women with early-stage breast cancer who would normally be recommended for chemotherapy do not, in fact, need it. This finding will spare thousands of women the side-effects of a treatment method which includes nausea and hair-loss, and can lead to heart and nerve damage, as well as the risk of leukaemia later in life.

    Breast cancer is one of the most common forms of cancer, and refers to a malignant growth in the tissues of the breast. It is usually found in women, but can make rare appearances in men. Cancer is responsible for nearly one in every six deaths worldwide. About 14 million people develop it every year, a sobering statistic that is expected to rise to 21 million annually by 2030.

    In Nigeria, some 100,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer every year, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), and about 80,000 die of it annually. This death ratio of 4 in 5 is one of the worst in the world.

    To further aggravate an already-terrible situation, cancer control strategies such as prevention and early diagnosis are relatively unknown in the country, to say nothing of more advanced treatments like chemotherapy and endocrine therapy.

    Breast self-examination (BSE), in which women carry out simple routine checks for unusual lumps or alterations in shape on their breasts, has not been fully integrated into the primary healthcare process. Far too many hospitals lack the capacity to undertake the mammograms which are crucial in the early detection of breast cancer that is vital to its successful treatment.

    For a nation struggling with a host of infectious diseases, as well as very high infant and maternal mortality rates, this apparently willful refusal to seriously confront the breast cancer menace is inexplicable. Its high fatality rates, the prohibitive cost of treatment, and the fact that it targets women has resulted in the devastation of families across the nation, regardless of social class, ethnicity or religion. Increasing lifestyle changes are very likely to result in even more women contracting the disease, turning what is already a healthcare emergency into a full-blown crisis.

    If Nigeria is to properly address the looming disaster that is breast cancer, it will require nothing less than a complete overhaul of current attitudes, infrastructure and public enlightenment methods.

    The ridiculous and outdated notions of modesty which continue to hamper honest and open discussion of breast cancer must cease. It makes little sense to hide behind mythical cultural beliefs to block open dialogue on an issue that is so crucial to the wellbeing of the nation’s women.

    Allied to this is the re-launching of vigorous and comprehensive enlightenment campaigns aimed at educating the populace on what breast cancer is and what its symptoms are. As the most cost-effective element in combatting the disease, there is no reason why it cannot be effectively put into action.

    The country’s healthcare infrastructure must be comprehensively re-tooled to confront breast cancer. This means properly equipping secondary and tertiary healthcare institutions, training more medical professionals in oncology, and creating opportunities for beneficial cooperation with the thousands of Nigerian doctors and nurses working abroad. Health insurance must be overhauled to make it more widespread and better able to cover the cost of cancer treatment.

    The country’s elite must be encouraged to contribute to the funding of cancer research and the establishment of treatment centres, instead of engaging in mindless and offensive displays of wealth.

    Cancer is a harsh reality. The sooner it is comprehensively confronted, the better it will be for Nigeria.

  • Ikpeazu, Ortom, help me, cancer patient begs

    A breast cancer patient, Mrs. Tina Agnes Aka has sent a passionate appeal to Abia State Governor Okezie Ikpeazu, and his Benue State counterpart Samuel Ortom to help save her from her ordeal.

    The woman hails from Guma Local Government Area of Benue State but is an outpatient of Nigerian Christian Hospital, Nlagu in Obingwa Local Government Area of Abia State.

    Aka was in pains and in tears as she spoke to our reporter surrounded by her relatives.

    She said she needs N500,000 to have the affected breast surgically removed by a team of medical experts visiting the hospital this month. Failing to come up with the money, she would have to endure the agony for the next three months when the surgeons are expected back in the hospital, and will still pay that sum.

    The 50-year-old widow and farmer, whose farms and home were burnt down by herdsmen who ransacked their village, said that life has been harsh on her and her children who now live on charity from individual donors and non-governmental organisations who donate relief materials in one of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps in their area.

     

    The beginning of her troubles

    “It started when I noticed some rashes on my breast which came with pain,” Aka narrated. “I told some persons about it because it was strange to me. At first, I thought it was a spiritual attack and when I noticed it was not, I was taken to a herbal home where the situation grew worse.

    “It was from the herbal home that I was now moved to Nlagu by my in-law who is residing in Aba. It was at Nlagu that I was told that I had cancer of the breast where I was told that the best thing that they can do is to cut off the affected breast to avoid it going over to the next one.”

    Mrs. Agnes, told our reporter that she would have sold some portion of her family’s lands to treat herself but herdsmen have sacked their community, and the residents haven’t been able to farm or even go back to their village.

    Agnes said that she has been told about the love the wife of Abia State governor and her husband, Okezie Ikpeazu have been showing to patients at the hospital and begged them to show mercy on her.

    She called on her state governor, Ortom to come to her rescue, stressing that she would want to reunite with her children at the IDP camp near their village who are still there without her supervision.

    A medical report by a consultant pathologist, Dr. C. O. Onwuka of Surepath Pathology Consultants of No.3 Akpa Ube Close, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, carried out on Agnes on July 14, 2017, confirmed that she has cancer of the breast.

    According to the report, Agnes would require three courses of Chemotherapy and actual surgery that would result in the removal of the ruptured breast.

    Her son, Joshua corroborating his mother’s account, said that the affected breast ripped open after his mother drank a concoction mixed by the herbalist whom they had deposited N30, 000 with out of the N50,000 he had charged to heal her.

    He told our reporter that caring for his mother with her health condition has not been easy with the family and their in-law in whose house at Alaoji in Obingwa LGA they have been taking refuge over one year.

    He disclosed that his mum in the last one year or more can only eat noodles, pap, yoghurt and bean cake (akara) and would vomit anytime she tries to eat solid food.

    To reach Tina Aka, call 08079484000, and for your donations, her account number is 3124097527 (First Bank Plc).

    To contact the team of doctors, call Dr. Brain Camazine (Chief Surgeon) on +12547180659   (USA), 07038459683 (Nigeria).e-mail; briancamazine@gmail.com or Dr. Jumbo (Chief Medical Director) 08038986345.

  • Cancer : Gov’s wife urges women to adopt monthly breast self-examination

    Cancer : Gov’s wife urges women to adopt monthly breast self-examination

    Wife of the Kwara state Governor, Mrs Omolewa Ahmed, has advised sexually active females to adopt monthly breast self-examination as a precautionary measure against breast Cancer.

    Mrs Ahmed made the call on Monday while addressing students on an advocacy sensitization visit at the Kwara State College of Technology, Offa, and the College of Education in Ilemona, Oyun Local Government Area.

    According to her, cancer has become wide spread, caused massive morbidity worldwide,while new cases of the deadly disease are expected to increase by about seventy per cent over the next two decades.

    She said her foundation had set up LEAH Anti-cancer Clubs both in secondary and tertiary institutions in the state to reach out to adolescents and young adults on breast and cervical cancer prevention.

    READ ALSO: Doctors: cancer treatable

    The governor’s wife called for the inclusion of breast and cervical cancer screening in pre-admission medical check-ups and the establishment of basic cancer screening centres in the institutions.

    The Provost, College of Technology Offa, Malam Aliu Abdu-Rauf, attributed the high rate of cancer deaths to Ignorance and called for more research on ways to curb the disease.

    Also, the Provost, College of Education Ilemona, Alhaji Kunle Oyewale, said the sensitization initiative was a major contribution to the fight against the disease.

    NAN