• Ogun announces free screening for two years
Coordinator for Non-Communicable Diseases (NCD), Delta State Ministry of Health and State Youth Coordinator of the Nigerian Cancer Society, Dr Rita Opene, has called on breast cancer survivors and the general public to intensify efforts in creating awareness and promoting early detection, warning that the disease remains one of the nation’s deadliest health challenges.
This was announced by the First Lady of Ogun State, Mrs Bamidele Abiodun, through her Ajose Foundation, in collaboration with First Ladies Against Cancer (FLAC), Roche Pharmaceuticals, and the state’s Ministry of Health, who declared free breast cancer tests for 10,000 women across the state over the next two years.
Dr Opene told The Guardian in Asaba, yesterday, that Nigeria recorded 32,278 new breast cancer cases and 16,332 deaths in 2022, representing over 25 per cent of all new cancer diagnoses in the country.
She described the figures as “alarming and preventable,” attributing the rising trend to a combination of reproductive, lifestyle, genetic and systemic factors.
“Early detection saves lives,” she emphasised. “Survivors and advocates must continue to speak up and drive awareness, so that women, especially in rural areas, understand that breast cancer is not a death sentence if detected early.”
According to her, data shared by the NCD office, the increase in breast cancer incidence has been linked to late marriage and childbirth, obesity, sedentary lifestyle, alcohol consumption, poor screening and late diagnosis.
Other contributors include family history, hormonal changes such as early menarche or late menopause, and exposure to environmental pollutants and radiation, Opene posited.
She highlighted preventive strategies to include regular breast self-examination and early reporting of abnormalities, routine mammography and clinical screening for women over 40, healthy living and genetic testing for women with a family history of breast cancer.
Opene, however, commended the Delta State Government, the World Health Organisation (WHO), Nigerian Cancer Society, and Blossom Care Foundation for ongoing efforts to boost awareness and screening outreach across the state.
MRS Abiodun, during the official opening of the State FLAC Breast Cancer Screening Clinic, at Oba Ademola Hospital, Abeokuta, yesterday, said breast cancer accounted for 20 per cent of all cancer-related deaths, noting Ogun as the second state after Kwara to have the FLAC clinic in Nigeria.
Appreciating Roche Pharmaceuticals for prioritising Ogun, the First Lady emphasised that early diagnosis would increase the chances of survival, stating that the clinic offers early detection, timely intervention, and sustained care to the public.
In her goodwill message, wife of the former governor of Kebbi State, who is also the President of the Union of International Cancer Control, Dr Zainab Bagudu, advised women to make judicious use of the clinic by going for cancer screening as soon as they notice any lump in their breasts, rather than resorting to pseudo-medical practices that could become fatal over time.
The Chairperson of FLAC and First Lady of Imo State, Chioma Uzodimma, stated that the collaboration was crucial in advancing the shared goal of present and past governors’ wives in combating cancer in Nigeria, adding that the clinic would provide screening services to those who needed them the most.
The General Manager of Roche Pharmaceuticals, Dr Ladi Hameed, promised his organisation’s continued technical expertise in collaboration with the Ministry of Health to ensure the sustainability of screening and treatment services in the State.
Speaking with journalists, Chief Medical Director (CMD), Oba Ademola Maternity Hospital, Dr Olugbenga Taiwo, disclosed that the clinic would run on Mondays and Thursdays of every week, to ensure regular access and wide coverage of the screening services.
