Stakeholders decry increasing incidence of cancer

Stakeholders in the healthcare sector have decried the rising cases of cancer in the country.

According to them, 100,000 people are diagnosed with cancer yearly and about 80,000 patients die.

These, they said, could be attributed to lack of access to treatment due to dearth of medical equipment needed to manage the disease.

Consultant Clinical Oncologist, Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi-Araba, Prof. Francis Durosinmi-Etti, while speaking at the Varian Oncology Summit yesterday in Lagos, said that although Nigeria seems to be lagging behind in the fight against cancer, but over the last few years, the country is waking up gradually.

He stated that few years back, the country does not have proper facility to manage the patient but now, it can boast of facilities to reduce the menace of the disease.

The oncologist said that we still have a lot to do to catch up with the rest of the world.

Durosinmi-Etti noted that the increase in cancer cases could be as result that people are becoming more aware and everybody is talking about cancer in the society.

“Again, the environment is getting polluted more and more on daily basis. The amount of fumes we have is enough to cause cancer. The diet we take, drinking of alcohol excessively and the jobs people do can expose them to cancer,” he said.

The medical expert said that the summit was designed to enlighten medical professionals on what to do about cancer care in Nigeria.

Also, Regional Sales Manager (West and East Africa), Varian Medical Systems International, Ansu Dukuray, said their vision aimed to see a world without cancer.

In the same vein, Chief Executive Officer, Tanit Medical Engineering, Anthony Abuo Nader, said that the summit aimed to inform stakeholders in Nigeria on the type of solutions, approach and technologies to support cancer care.