General
Source: Vanguard
The Medical Director, Optimal Cancer Care Foundation, Dr Femi Olaleye, on Friday said breast cancer killed one in every 25 Nigerian women.
He made this known on Friday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.
"The incidence of breast cancer is one in 25, but because we don't screen our population, it's actually a death sentence.
"In other parts of the world, once you're a woman, that one in 25 is picked up early, procedures are done to quickly stop that cancer from killing her.
"So, it doesn't kill as much as it is killing here."
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared breast cancer as the number one cancer scourge afflicting human beings.
WHO says, "One in eight women are at risk of having breast cancer in their lifetime, (a diagnosis of breast cancer is made every other minute).
"Here in Nigeria, most of the diagnoses are made when it is too late, thereby leading to several needless and painful deaths of our beloved moms, sisters, aunts, friends, colleagues.
"Breast cancer is currently the most common cancer in Nigeria.
"One or two in every 25 Nigerian women are at risk of breast cancer, but higher risks exist for women who are older than 45, older than 30 at birth of their first child, and women with family history."
Olaleye said that breast and cervix cancers were the two most common cancers that affect women.
He urged women to go for breast and cervix cancer screening every year to prevent untimely deaths.
Olaleye said that screening was the process of looking for early signs of a disease in a healthy population.
He explained that while other cancers could be detected through proper medical tools, they could not be screened for in such a cost effective manner.
Olaleye said that the screening was just a five to 10 minutes procedure that medical practitioners in the primary healthcare centres could be trained to do.
He said that the main aim of the foundation was to make screening available to communities across the country.
"Rather than setting up a cancer foundation in your church, you just invite us to come and screen your women every year.
"People who love to be part of public campaign can spearhead this project in their own communities as their own contributions to impact on the lives of their people."
Olaleye said that annual screening would not only boost a woman's chance of early detection and survival but also expose her to information she could adopt on preventive measures.
He said that information on lifestyle including eating habits, exercise practise and stress level often came during counseling.