NIGERIANS have been urged to avail themselves of regular free cancer screening and detection campaigns to curb the scourge of the killer disease and in turn avoid the pains of the untimely death of family members and loved ones.

   The call was made by the Chief Executive Officer of Optimal Cancer Foundation, Dr. Femi Olaleye, at a seminar tagged “Lifestyle that prevents cancer”, which was organized recently by Sunshine Foundation in collaboration with the Committee of Concerned Women.

   Held at the Afe Babalola auditorium of the University of Lagos, Olaleye maintained that early detection is the best remedy to cancer treatment, as regular vaccination is important to a healthy living. Explaining how breast cancer start, he said the affected body cells keeps growing and dividing too fast until it forms into a lump called tumour.

   According to him, when the tumour is not detected early enough, the cancer can spread to other parts of the body; one of the places it may spread to is the lymph nodes in the armpit. 

   Adding that the other treatment options could be surgery, radiation, chemotherapy and hormone treatment, he disclosed that there is a free medical screening on breast, cervix and prostate cancers in his Lagos Thomas Clinic every first Fridays of the month. 

   He elaborated on the method of self-examination of the breast for women while the men should do a PSA screening once attaining the age of 35.

   The event was well attended by the members of the public, including the medical team from Shell Nigeria, who conducted a free medical test for everyone present at the event. 

   Mrs. Rose Odiete, founder of Sunshine Foundation told The Guardian that it would cost about N23,000 for the entire free medical test that participants underwent, which was sponsored by Shell. The tests included drugs, blood test, sugar level, HIV/AIDS urine test, and hypertension test, among others. Over 130 participants benefited from the free medical campaign.

   “Sunshine Foundation is a non-profit initiative, which has been in existence for over 20 years. We are deeply concerned  about the recent cases of the deadly cancer, which is one of the leading cause of death,” she said.