Juliet Jacob Ochenje
The wife of Nigeria’s President, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, has called on Nigeria to continue to show empathy, care, love, and support for cancer patients and survivors even as the country creates more awareness and advocacy for better service delivery.
She made the call on Sunday, in a statement issued to mark this year’s World Cancer Day, saying that the celebration presents an important opportunity to raise awareness and elaborate further on the message of prevention, early detection and treatment of cancer.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Breast and cervical cancer currently constitute over half the cancer burden for women in sub-Saharan Africa. Between 60%–70% of women in African countries are diagnosed at a late stage, and only one in two women diagnosed with breast cancer in an African country will survive five years. Breast cancer five-year survival rates in high-income countries exceed 90%.
“The initiative in the three countries includes health promotion, screening, early diagnosis and treatment, as well as general primary care and screening for other incommunicable diseases.
In addition, early detection services will be integrated into existing cervical cancer screening clinics to ensure both old and new systems are unified. The aim is to provide an integrated and holistic system of health care that will contribute to addressing the burden of breast and cervical cancer in the African region.”
