Adopting preventive lifestyle to beat cancer

•NSIA-LUTH plans to start support groups where patients can share their challenges, receive professional advice
Experts on cancer treatment and management at NSIA-LUTH Cancer Centre Idi-Araba, Lagos has urged Nigerians to start adopting preventive lifestyle to tame cancer scourge in the country.

They said this during a press sensitisation on cancer in commemoration with the global cancer awareness for the month of February with the theme, “Close the Care Gap”, which is a three-year running theme of the incidence of what to expect and achieve by bridging the gap in access to quality cancer care, especially since its been found that this scourge is prevalent in low to middle-income economies of the world such as Nigeria.

Director, NSIA-LUTH Cancer Centre (NLCC), Dr. Lilian Ekpo, during her address, said cancer could be caused by a number of different factors. She said: “Most cancers are the result of exposure to a number of different casual factors. It is important to note that, while some factors causing cancer cannot be modified, over a one-third of cancer cases can be prevented by reducing behavioral and dietary risks and some of the modifiable risk factors include: Alcohol consumption, being overweight or obese, diet and nutrition, physical inactivity and others.”

Ekpo continued by encouraging regular screening, which she said is a primary focus of awareness in Nigeria. “In effect, our primary focus in Nigeria this year is to drive our people to seek to prevent cancer by adopting lifestyles that can prevent its occurrence as we’ve seen in the modifiable causes of cancer.

“We will equally like to get our people to go for regular screening with a view to detecting early if it occurs and finally getting treatment started early in the event that a person is diagnosed with early stages of cancer.

“Let us join hands as we help more people move away from the notion that cancer is a death sentence, because it need not be if we detect it early and commence treatment early,” she said.

Speaking about psychotherapy for patients who are undergoing cancer treatment of which most of the time can take a mental toll on the patient, the Director said: “When you come and register, every single patient gets to fill a distress thermometer form and that form talks about activities of their daily living. Questions like; are you struggling? How are you coping? Are you anxious? Do you feel depressed?

“We access all those things and then they get to see a psychologist. They have one session before treatment and another during treatment, so that they are properly accessed and well supported.”

Ekpo finally added that NLCC is also working to start support groups, which they will be launching this February so patients can be able to share their stories and challenges they are facing and receive professional advice as well as encouragement from their peers.

Chairman of Medical Advisory Council (CMAC) at LUTH, Prof. Wasiu Lanre Adeyemo, called on everyone to do his or her part in this fight against cancer. He said: “The government has done a lot but in terms of cancer care, we also have to realise that all of us have a role to play; the government is doing its part and we also need well meaning Nigerians to come to our aid in terms of advocacy, so, Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs) do have a role to play. The cancer scourge needs to be tamed and like other serious countries are doing in the world, we also need to play our part. This is the time to appreciate what the government has done and also call the attention of Nigerians, individuals, NGOs, and multi-nationals that they all have roles to play too.”

Head, Medical Physicist, NSIA-LUTH, Dr. Adeneye Samuel, who explained the work and importance of a medical physicist in the treatment of cancer at the centre, said: “In NSIA-LUTH cancer centre, the medical physicists use the knowledge of radiation physics to treat different kinds of cancer; we use the latest techniques such as Intensity Modulated Radio Therapy (IMRT) and Volumetric Arc therapy (VMAT). Medical physicists use these advanced techniques to treat different forms of cancer. So, we basically use these techniques to spare organ at risk.”

Adeneye also gave an insight on how they carry out treatments, especially when the tumour is situated at a risky site in the body of the patient. “We all know that cancers grow in different areas and the main cancer is what we call the target volume and this target volume using prostrate cancer, for example; when it grows into the bladder so the duty of the medical physicist is to protect the bladder, rectum and all other organs that are surrounding that volume of cancer.

“We also carry out quality assurance using all the latest machines mentioned earlier and these are big machines that uses cutting edge technologies in their make up. So, we make sure these machines are working optimally by using fathom and other ion chambers, which is a very extensive and specialised equipment so we make sure that the doze prescribed by the radiation oncologist is exactly the same doze that the patients receive,” he said.

Head, Clinical and Radiation Oncology, Dr. Muhammad Yaqub Habeebu, spoke about the importance of early detection and how it influences the prognosis and therefore encourages early screening. “So what is the most important factor in closing the gap? It is awareness because when you are aware of cancer and early screening, the treatment no matter what technology you have available the most important thing that influences the outcome of the treatment is the stage of presentation,” he said.

Habeebu also emphasised on the need to add cancer treatment in the National Health Insurance Act (NHIA), which will go a long way in reducing the financial burden of family members of people, diagnosed with cancer. “There is also need to have payment for cancer treatment put in health insurance because one of the factors that causes delay in presentation is cost of diagnosis, treatment and cost of getting to the facilities so if we have facilities enough in the different geo-political zones and the treatment placed in health insurance, this will aid early presentation and improve the clinical outcome following diagnosis,” he said.

Statistics have shown that cancer is the second leading cause of death worldwide with over 10 million deaths every year, globally, with about 70 percent of cancer death occurs in low to middle-income countries like Nigeria. In essence, millions of lives could be saved each year by implementing resource- appropriate strategies for prevention, early detection and treatment.

Statistics have also shown that more than 40 percent of cancer-related deaths are preventable as they are linked to modifiable risk factors such as smoking; alcohol use, poor diet and physical inactivity and at least one-third of all deaths related to cancer could be prevented through routine screening, early detection and treatment.