By Job Osazuwa
Mr. Matthew Ademuyiwa recently told the reporter that, if they had detected the lump in his wife’s left breast earlier as cancer, perhaps, she would have remained alive. According to him, his wife, Elizabeth, woke up one day in May 2018 to discover that there was what looked like a little bulge in the breast. The thought of cancer was the least thing she imagined.
Waving it aside, she took some painkillers, got relief and continued with her normal activities. But, thereafter, the pain intermittently resurfaced and disappeared after suppressing it with across-the-counter drugs.
By the time the lady went for diagnosis, the pain had become unbearable for her, even as the lump grew bigger. The woman was told that she had cancer. The mother of one rejected the result. She reacted as many of her countrywomen might have done.
“Her death still hurts us because we were ignorant and not careful enough in certain decisions we took,” he said.
It has been discovered that, in developing countries, including Nigeria, the majority of women diagnosed with breast cancer do not survive because their cancer is detected too late.
Experts have repeatedly said that massive awareness is the first step in the battle against cancer. They advise that it is important for every woman to examine her breasts regularly and raise the alarm when any strange feeling is discovered.
In 2021 alone, the following people died of cancer: Nomthi, the wife of Taiwo Odukoya, senior pastor of the Fountain of Life Church, in November; Capt. Hosa Okunbo, the Edo State-born businessman magnate, departed in August, in London, United Kingdom, after battling pancreatic cancer; multi-talented singer, Lanre Fasasi, aka Sound Sultan, on July 11, at 44, following a hard battle with throat cancer; Nollywood actress, Doris Chima, on August 16; and renowned broadcaster and actor, Sadiq Daba, in March, of leukaemia and prostate cancer.
Taking a look at some prominent Nigerians that have succumbed to the dreaded ailment, not many people will easily forget the wife of former President Ibrahim Babangida, Maryam, who died from ovarian cancer on December 27, 2009; Olusola Saraki, who died on November 14, 2012; and Clara Oshiomhole, wife of the former governor of Edo State, Adams Oshiomhole, from breast cancer, on December 7, 2010. Others are music legend, Sunny Okosun, from colon cancer, on May 24, 2008; legal luminary, Gani Fawehinmi, from lung cancer, on September 5, 2009; former minister of information and erstwhile director-general of National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Prof. Dora Akunyili, on June 7, 2014; renowned medical doctor, Beko Ransome-Kuti, from lung cancer, on February 10, 2006; founder and chairman of The Guardian newspaper, Alex Ibru, on November 20, 2011; and accomplished banker, politician and former Deputy Governor of Ekiti State, Olufunmilayo Olayinka, on April 6, 2013.
The mere mention of cancer sends a discomforting chill into many. The disease has claimed many people. From the list of victims, it is safe to say that the disease is a respecter of no one, and takes away souls, irrespective of affluence, age, race and gender.
Every February 4 is set aside to increase awareness and strengthen forces against social myths and misconceptions surrounding the disease. This year’s theme is: “Close the care gap.”
According to World Health Organisation (WHO), 17 people die every minute from cancer in the world. The body believes that detecting cancer early will effectively reduce the mortality associated with cancer. The primary purpose of celebrating the special day is to reduce the number of cancer patients and to reduce the death rate due to it.
According to WHO, cancer is the second leading cause of death globally. Various types of cancer occur but the most common cancers are lung, breast, cervical, neck, brain and colorectal cancer.
The world body further stated that about 70 per cent of all cancer deaths occur in low and middle income countries.
In Nigeria, many patients and their families, particularly low-income earners, say they regard a cancer diagnosis as a death sentence due to the high cost of treatment. Indeed, it has dispatched many people, including the rich, to their graves.
Decrying the incidence of cancer, the president of the Commonwealth Medical Association (CMA), Dr. Osahon Enabulele, called for the integration of cancer prevention and treatment services into universal health coverage frameworks.
He charged government at all levels to act more decisively to flatten the cancer curve, especially by being proactive through national health insurance schemes, in ways that would create opportunities for improved access to quality health care and cancer treatment services.
In his address to commemorate the 2021 World Cancer Day, Enabulele stated that cancer remained a leading cause of morbidity and mortality globally, which kills people every minute in low and middle-income countries.
He averred that the rising incidence and huge burden of cervical cancer was a reflection of social injustice and numerous other factors, including poverty and inequities in access to quality cancer care.
He urged women of reproductive age to adopt appropriate health-seeking behaviours and healthy lifestyle practices. He also encouraged them to undergo regular health screening and to present early for treatment at the precancerous stages.
Oncologists have said that though the disease is non-communicable, it could start from any part of the human body and spread to surrounding tissues, causing havoc anywhere it touches.
There have been calls by experts and other concerned Nigerians to the Federal Government to establish comprehensive cancer care centres across the six geopolitical zones in Nigeria. This, they believe, would help to tame the scourge.
According to the crusaders, there should be town hall meetings as well as outreaches to schools, rural areas, churches and mosques to create awareness about the disease.
Explaining how cancer strikes, a general practitioner based in Lagos, Abah Nathaniel, said: “Naturally, human cells grow and divide to form new cells as per the requirement of the body. The normal process is that when cells become old or damaged, they die and new cells take their place.
“But when there is cancer, it does not happen. The cells become abnormal; old cells, instead of dying, survive and when there is no need for new cells they also develop. These extra cells divide and divide and grow into tumours.”
He advocated free blood test for prostate cancer, while imploring men above 45 years old to make themselves available for the test.
During the 2021 World Cancer Day, the wife of Ondo State governor, Betty Anyanwu Akeredolu, implored individuals and corporate bodies to commit to the fight against cancer in any way they could afford.
Through her foundation, Breast Cancer Association of Nigeria (BRECAN), she has been sensitising women in Ondo and beyond on prevention and management of the disease.
She stressed that though government has a big role to play in the fight against cancer by providing necessary medical infrastructure, individuals also need to commit to the cause. She called on Nigerians to cultivate the habit of donating a token to cancer support groups.
In her contributions to reduce cancer incidence, the founder and CEO of the first breast cancer awareness network in Nigeria, Care, Organisation and Public Enlightenment (COPE), Mrs. Ebunola Anozie, told Daily Sun that despite the discoveries and clinical advances across the world to tackle the disease, Nigeria still wallows in ignorance, medical infrastructural decay and government’s negligence, to the detriment of the people.
Anozie decried the level of the dilapidated facilities in the sector and dearth of experts. She lamented that decades of neglect by successive administrations had punctured the health sector and left it comatose.
She argued that cancer was not a death sentence and was curable, especially with early detection, management and right treatment.
Anozie said: “Even those patients who are lucky to be diagnosed early are not treated in time due to long queues and poor access to proper treatment at government hospitals, leading to high mortality rate.
“Except the government does something very urgently to rescue the health care sector, we are heading for danger in this country. The total budget for health is abysmal. Treating cancer is very expensive, running into millions of naira.”
Anozie charged government to establish research centres where traditional medicines could be promoted. She stated that all plants were created for a purpose and Nigeria was blessed with an abundance of them.