Medical professionals specializing in oncology emphasize that early detection and timely treatment are crucial in preventing cancer-related deaths.
They stress the significance of regular screenings as a means to identify cancer at its early stages, as late diagnosis is often linked to higher mortality rates among cancer patients.
Cancer is characterized by the abnormal growth of body cells, disrupting normal cellular functions and potentially leading to fatal consequences.
Experts no longer view cancer as an automatic death sentence, with physicians like Dr. Adeoluwa Adeniji, the Medical Director of Me Cure Cancer Centre, highlighting the progress in cancer treatment.
Dr. Adeniji advocates for increased awareness that cancer can be effectively managed when detected early, countering the misconception that it is invariably fatal.
Despite advancements in cancer care, late presentation remains a significant factor contributing to mortality rates among cancer patients in Nigeria.
Dr. Adeniji, a clinical radiation oncologist, urges the public to prioritize timely screenings and healthcare interventions to improve outcomes and reduce the burden of cancer-related deaths in the country.
Harping on the importance of regular health checks, the oncologist, said, “Screening of cancer is the way to detect cancer early, to ensure that people diagnosed with cancer have access to care.
“Cancer is no longer a death sentence especially when it is detected early and that is the purpose of the screening.”
The oncologist said people are still dying of cancer in Nigeria due to late presentation.
“The issue is that a lot of people don’t come for screening programs and they don’t come when the cancer is still small. They come around in Nigeria, in Africa when cancer has taken over the entire body.”
Adeniji added that when presented late, treatment of cancer would not be as effective as when it was presented early for treatment.
“At that point, even the best of the centres all over the world may not be able to cure it.
“What we are emphasising now is screening and early detection. Once an individual can come for screening annually and cancer is detected early, then it is no longer a death sentence, it can be cured and that is what we are saying at this point.
“And it does not mean once they are diagnosed with cancer, that is the end of the whole thing. They need to see a specialist who will give them all the information that they need about the diagnosis, the staging, and the treatment”, he elaborated.
He emphasized that cancer screening is affordable and encouraged women to perform monthly breast self-exams after their periods.
Adeniji expressed concern over the high incidence of new cancer cases in Nigeria each year.
The oncologist added, “The number of new cases of cancer that we have in Nigeria every year is above 140,000.
The recent findings talk about 140,000 new cancer cases in Nigeria annually and that tells you that the number is huge to have that in one year.
“The pathetic part of it is that Nigeria has few oncologists and centres to take care of cancer patients unlike in the developed world where they have adequate manpower and infrastructures to take care of them.”
He encouraged Nigerians to seek medical help promptly if they exhibit symptoms of cancer, dispelling the myth that a cancer diagnosis is always fatal.
Dr. Habeebu Muhammad, Chief Clinical Director of the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority and Lagos University Teaching Hospital’s Cancer Centre, emphasized that early detection is vital to reducing cancer mortality in Nigeria.
He stressed that late hospital visits, when the disease has advanced, are the primary cause of cancer deaths.
Dr. Muhammad reassured that early detection saves lives, highlighting the importance of awareness, recognizing early signs, seeking timely medical attention, and regular screening to prevent costly and life-threatening outcomes.
“The challenge we have is that patients present late. They present late because first, they are not aware of the signs and symptoms.
”The bleeding from the vagina or weight loss and all the other symptoms associated with cancer are ignored and people don’t present on time.
“Once you present late, the likelihood that the oncologists and the team of cancer care specialists will be able to achieve a cure is lower. So that is the challenge in Nigeria.
“The top four cancers that we are dealing with are breast cancer, prostate cancer, cervical cancer, and colon cancer”, he highlighted.
