Get Guardian on GoogleCancer survivor advises patients to seek second medical opinion for early treatment
Cancer Enlightenment and Support Foundation (CESUF) and a medical expert have called for effective referral systems, increased access to funding, treatment facilities, second medical diagnoses opinion, cancer awareness and early screening to boost survival rates among patients in Nigeria.
The call was made during the 2026 yearly public lecture on cancer awareness and enlightenment held in Lagos at the weekend.
In a keynote address, Consultant Radiation and Clinical Oncologist at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Dr Ademola Oyekan, said cancer awareness should go beyond educating people about the disease to ensuring that patients have access to funding and functional healthcare systems that support early diagnosis and treatment.
The oncologist further identified inadequate healthcare infrastructure, shortage of specialists, brain drain and poor referral pathways as some of the major challenges affecting cancer care and survival in Nigeria.
He stressed the need to establish an effective referral system to facilitate the transfer of patients from primary healthcare centres to secondary and tertiary healthcare institutions without unnecessary delays.
Oyekan stressed that Nigeria needs significant systemic and infrastructural improvements to address the gaps in cancer diagnosis and treatment to improve survival rates.
The Chairman of CESUF, Tony Akinyemi, expressed concern that the burden of cancer in Nigeria has reached an alarming rate, with fresh diagnoses each day and many losing their battles not because cancer is an absolute death sentence, but because of lack of early information, detection and timely intervention or financial access to care.
Akinyemi said that in Nigeria, ignorance remains one of the greatest allies of this disease, as many Nigerians are simply unaware of preventative lifestyle choices, insensitive to early cancer warning signs, or held back by fear and misconceptions.
However, the founder of CESUF and a cancer survivor, Adegboyega Adepitan, advised patients who are dissatisfied with medical diagnoses to seek second medical opinions to ensure they receive appropriate treatment.
Adepitan, while describing his battle with the ailment, said his initial visit to the hospital resulted in a diagnosis of high cholesterol, a situation that persisted for about two to three months before his wife persuaded him to seek a second medical opinion.
According to him, subsequent examination revealed that he had cancer, prompting a decision for him to travel to India, where he underwent 12 rounds of treatment for eight months.
