Wife of the Ondo State governor, Mrs. Betty Anyawu-Akeredolu, on Thursday, lamented that the country ranked among countries with the poorest cancer care and control system. Speaking at the 2020 World Cancer Day in Akure, she pleaded that the government “must act without delay.” Akeredolu said that cancer “hitherto seen as a distant disease is now at our doorsteps causing unimaginable tears and sorrow in many families in Nigeria.”
According to Vanguard, the governor’s wife, who said that breast cancer is not a spiritual attack, accused religious leaders of misguiding affected women.
“Instead of going to Prayer Mountains following the advice of religious leaders at the earlier stage, they should go to doctors for proper screening and medical check. Nigeria ranks amongst countries with poorest cancer care and control system.
“Studies have shown that basic breast cancer screenings like clinical breast examination are highly cost-effective, yet it is still not generally available at the primary health care level in Nigeria. On the contrast, Morocco and India, which are countries referred to as low-middle income countries like Nigeria have CBE generally available at their primary health facilities.
“Nigeria has a population that is five times bigger than morocco and about seven times smaller than India. It implies then that population size did not influence the better cancer control and care system India and Morocco possess in comparison to Nigeria.
“Radiotherapy is an important treatment option for cancer patients yet it is not generally available in Nigeria. About nine radiotherapy centers, most of which are usually not functional for most of the year are available in a country of over 190 million people, whereas Morocco with a population of just about treatment 6 million people has 17 functional radiotherapy centres as of 2014.
“Though Nigeria has a national cancer plan, it is yet to be implemented and domesticated at the state and local government level. The Federal Government is yet to commence any routine based campaign to raise awareness on any form of cancer.
“The majority of the awareness creation on cancer is organized by non-governmental organisations working around cancer.
Population-based cancer registries are equally almost non-existent, making it quite impossible to understand the cancer needs in the country. It must first be recognized that most factors impeding positive cancer outcomes are multi-faceted yet integrated.
“It is, therefore, important to apply a holistic approach to breast cancer programming. Addressing an aspect of the continuum in isolation will in many cases yield little positive results. Creating awareness without addressing the issue of patient navigation and quality cancer care services will render awareness almost useless.
“The problems are indeed integrated and must be addressed using a holistic approach. To achieve any remarkable success in cancer care, all aspects from detection to treatment must be considered.
“It is both intuitively and scientifically correct to assert that early diagnosis of cancer can significantly improve cancer outcomes and patients’ survival. It is, therefore, important to proffer context-appropriate strategies to improve early diagnosis in Nigeria. NGOs have been doing a lot of campaign to educate women and men alike on how to conduct breast self-examination and must not relent at this time.”
