Prostate Cancer treatment in Nigeria – all you need to know

In Nigeria, Prostate cancer has affected more than 40 per cent of the men in the age group of 40 and above. An increasing number of deaths on account of prostate cancer are noted mainly because of unawareness, lack of timely treatment and lack of medical infrastructure.

Many issues plague the Prostate Cancer Treatment in Nigeria. Insurance does cover its treatment, and family members have to pay for it with their funds, causing an immense financial burden.

The cost of prostate cancer diagnosis in Nigeria is high, it ranges from   N 140,000 to N 160,000 (337 USD to 385 USD), and surgery could cost around N 300,000 to N 900,000 (722 USD to 2167 USD).

Generally, prostate cancer patients in Nigeria need around 30 sessions of chemotherapy, which would cost around N 150,000 to N 380,000. That’s why such cancer patients need between N 1.5 million to N 3.5 million to treat their prostate cancer in Nigeria.

Nowadays, many government programs and NGOs are helping patients to get their treatment done at some discounted price. But, it still becomes hard for the patients to continue their treatment due to high medical expenses. However, those patients who can raise funds for their treatment prefer to travel to India to seek affordable prostate cancer treatment.

Many Nigerians prefer to get treated from the best Cancer Hospitals in India. The cost of cancer treatment in India is approximately between $1687 to $2249. Cancer patients of Nigeria get better medical facilities at a much lesser cost in such countries.

The second issue is the non-transference of the medical records from North Nigeria to South Nigeria. If a person has sought medical treatment in North Nigeria and wishes to transfer their case to a hospital in southern Nigeria, it is an impossible task.

The third issue is the shortage of medical professionals due to the “brain drain” over the last decade. As a result, most intelligent and bright Nigerian youth prefer to relocate to other countries for better career prospects and incomes.

It is the responsibility of the government to offer an environment suitable for medical studies and offer better career prospects and growth opportunities to medical students and professionals. Furthermore, the Government of Nigeria should take adequate steps and investment in medical resources and infrastructure and make available chemotherapy treatment in the country.

Nigerians believe that cancer with wrongdoings of the patient in the past or a curse. So, people refrain from asking for help with cancer treatment. Similarly, people are unwilling to help cancer patients because of this mindset. Therefore, the social stigma associated with cancer has to be eradicated so that proper and timely medical treatment is sought and the patient can become cancer-free and live a healthy life.

People with prostate cancer prefer visiting religious institutions and leaders for treatment rather than approaching hospitals or clinics, causing delays and further complications in treatment. In addition, patients visit hospitals when they are at an advanced stage of cancer, making treatment even more difficult.

Many NGOs in India are aware of these issues and hence have come forward to help Nigerians get better treatment for Cancer in India.

ClinicSpots and many other organizations associated with Medical Tourism try their best to help Nigerians. ClinicSpots offers its Question and Answer platform that helps patients get in direct touch with a medical expert to resolve their medical queries.

Statistics reveal that nearly 1,00,000 people in Nigeria have cancer, and among them, almost 80,000 die due to lack of medical infrastructure, poor financial condition, and unavailability of proper medical facilities.

Below mentioned is the graphical representation of the cost of cancer treatment in USD from different countries across the globe.

However, well-established Nigerian hospitals provide good treatment to their residents. Some of the best hospitals in Nigeria for cancer treatment are mentioned below:

1. Lagoon Hospital – Lagoon Hospital is the first hospital in the region to be accredited by Joint Commission International. This hospital has experience of more than 30 years with a Radiology department with CT scans, X-rays, MRI, Mammography, and ultrasound.
2. Primus Super Speciality Hospital – It is one of the well-known hospitals in Nigeria with a capacity of 120 beds and modern infrastructure. It offers treatment on par with international standards. The hospital has facilities like a 12-bed capacity ICU, 1.5 Tesla MRI, CT scan, 500 M.A Digital X-Ray, and Mammography.
3. EKO Hospital – EKO Hospital was established in 1982, with its branches located in Ikeja, Ikoyi, central Lagos, and Surulere. The hospital has 130 bedded facilities offering advanced healthcare services, including imaging technologies and radiotherapy units.
4. St Nicholas Hospital – St Nicholas is one of the renowned hospitals located in Lagos, Nigeria, recognized for performing the first kidney transplant in West Africa. It has facilities like bilateral breast scans, pelvic ultrasound scans, pelvic ultrasound scans, and prostate scans.

Recently the government of Nigeria and NGOs are dedicated to improving the medical infrastructure for cancer patients through these steps

1. Initiatives to increase the registration of cancer cases up to 50% through cancer registration programs by 2022.
2. Development of collection technique of cancer-related data
3. To raise funds and develop technical support for 80% of research activities related to cancer prevention and management.
4. Survey of cancer patients among the different populations of Nigeria.