Stakeholders canvass improved brachytherapy treatment to check cancer

Healthcare stakeholders have advocated improved brachytherapy treatment in Nigeria, noting its potency in checking cancer.

They also charged practitioners to address prevailing challenges, including lack of awareness, limited access to resources, financial constraints and technological improvement.

The stakeholders made the appeal at the inaugural NSIA-LUTH Cancer Centre (NLCC) Brachytherapy Summit in Lagos, with the theme: “Innovative Approaches to Improving Brachytherapy Practices in Nigeria.”

Centre Director, NLCC, Dr. Lilian Ekpo, said brachytherapy is a critical component of cancer treatment, adding that it is important for practitioners to constantly enhance practices and keep abreast with developments in the field.

She charged professionals on innovation and new approaches to ensure patients get best care.

Ekpo also canvassed collaboration to overcome observed challenges and make a lasting impact on patients, as well as contribute to advancement of cancer care in Nigeria.

Consultant Radiation and Clinical Oncologist and Head of Brachytherapy Unit, NLCC, Dr. Bolanle Adegboyega, urged improved technology in brachytherapy treatment.

“If you are able to do brachytherapy, it shows that our chances of getting most of the cancer cures are higher. Now that patients are coming early, we should be equipped enough to treat and get many cured as much as possible,” she said.

Adegboyega observed that while there are six centres in the country that offer brachytherapy treatment, only NLCC has the advanced technology.

Earlier, Chief Executive Officer of NSIA Healthcare Development and Investment Company, Dr. Tolu Adewole, admitted inadequacy of equipment to speedily attend to the high number of cancer patients, even as the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommended that for every one million people, there must be one linear accelerator in a country.

He said Nigeria, with a population of over 200 million people, do not even have up to 15 machines, adding that the cost is exorbitant.

Adewole explained that on equipment maintenance alone in NLCC, about N200 million is spent yearly, excluding salary, diesel and consumables, which are billed in dollars.

He said recently, a part of the machine in the centre got spoilt, noting that in bringing that part into the country, Customs duty alone was N11 million.

Adewole added that plans are underway by NSIA to build 23 diagnostic centres – four in each geopolitical zone – to ensure Nigerians access cancer treatment.

He said NSIA has concluded plans to build three new cancer centres in Enugu, Kaduna and Abuja, in addition to the one in Kano and Umuahia to serve the high number cancer patients.