Nigeria: A country under the scourge of cancer

While in the UK last year, I paid my best friend’s aunt a visit but today, she is no more. While she was in Lagos, we thought she just needed to remove a lump in her breast and we found out it was cancer. She travelled to the UK and had it removed. She came back to Nigeria and we were all happy to see her only for her to complain of stomach pains. She flew back to UK for another test and she was confirmed to have cervical cancer. It hurt badly because we never stopped wondering how one single individual would have two different types of cancers simultaneously.

Also, in January 2007, Tosin Oyekanmi found out she had cancer. A very vibrant young lady, a social worker and teacher who always puts in her best into what she does, Oyekanmi always looks joyful and full of life, being a cancer survivor. “It looked like a groundnut seed rolling at the corner of my breast.”

She told me, adding that “I thought it was changes on my breast due to my menstrual period. I am glad I fought cancer and survived and I was favoured to be hooked up with a man who loves me totally, and we are preparing for our marriage. I must not fail to say that Sebeccly Cancer Care helped me to understand that I was not alone in my situation and till date, I have been greatly encouraged.”

Admonishing all, she advises that “it is very important for every woman to do regular screening and go for check-ups, since every woman is at risk. Early detection is the prevention. As a survivor, I have created awareness in so many places like schools, churches, communities, among my friends and loved ones.

According to the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), globally, there will be 21 million new cases of cancer every year and 13 million cancer deaths by the year 2030, while deaths from infectious diseases will reduce by 7 million every year.

An estimated 80,000 cancer deaths occur in Nigeria every year and 10 Nigerians die every hour. Take leukaemia, the cancer of the white blood cells for example, comparing the statistics in Nigeria to what obtains in India, out of 30 Nigerians with leukaemia, only one survives while at Tata Centre, India, survival is 99 in 100. It is however interesting to note that leukaemia is one of the cancers now curable but death ratio in Nigeria is 4 in 5.

In Nigeria, the commonest cancers in women are breast and cervical cancers while prostate cancer is the commonest in men. Liver and colorectal cancers are common in both sexes. The commonest cancer in children is Burkit’s lymphoma. Leukaemia (blood cancer) is also a common cancer in children.

The death rate of some of the common cancers in Nigeria is alarming: thirty (30) Nigerian women die every day from breast cancer; a Nigerian woman dies every hour from cervical cancer; 8,900 Nigerians die from liver cancer every year; prostate cancer kills 14 Nigerian men every day; and every two hours a Nigerian dies from colorectal cancer.

Cervical cancer is virtually 100% preventable; and yet it kills one Nigerian woman every hour. Death from prostate cancer is easily preventable if detected early; and yet it kills 14 Nigerian men every day.

Nigeria is the 13th poorest nation in the world with 70 percent poverty and 37.5percent extreme poverty. Can a nation with such statistics boast of adequate healthcare not to talk of having standardised equipment for treatment of ailments like cancer?

According to Abia Nzelu, executive secretary, committee encouraging corporate philanthropy (CECP-Nigeria), “An area being postulated as a way to help checkmate the prevalence of cancer is the provision of Comprehensive Cancer Care (CCC), a comprehensive cancer centre is a tertiary health institution focused exclusively on cancer care. India boasts of over 120 CCCs, mostly established with support from the private sector. Bangladore which has a population of 8 million has 4 CCCs and Nigeria with a population of over 160million people has none. This is a cause to worry.”

October is an International Cancer Awareness Month (ICAM), with special emphasis on breast cancer, the commonest cancer among women globally. The ICAM is an annual international campaign against the cancer pandemic. The symbolic colour for the month of October is pink.

To this end, the Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy (CECP-Nigeria) designated the 18th of October, every year as the National Pink Day (NPD). The NPD (October 18) is a day to remind all Nigerians to go for regular health screening, and supporting initiatives aimed at improving the health of society at large.

The CECP-Nigeria is an initiative co-promoted by six of the core bodies of the organised private sector in Nigeria, namely: the Institute of Directors (IoD), the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and industry (LCCI), the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA), the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), the Nigerian Institute of Management (NIM) and the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).

It would cost 63 million USD to set up a comprehensive cancer centre in Nigeria. Given the fact that Nigeria does not have the adequate structure on ground to take full advantage of the second and third levels of cancer care (cure and care), it is important to focus first and foremost on the first level (prevention), which is better and cheaper. For this Nigeria needs 37 of MCCs, one for each State and the FCT, Abuja.

For Margaret Rose Adetutu Adeleke, convener of CECP, “A Mobile Cancer Centre (MCC) is a clinic on wheels, in which screening, follow-up and several forms of treatment (including surgeries), can take place. It includes facilities for mammography, sonology, colonoscopy.

“It will also contain colposcope and cryotherapy equipment for follow-up and treatment, and a side laboratory for prostate and colorectal cancer screening and other basic tests for hepatitis, malaria, HIV/AIDS and diabetes. Thus the MCC takes care of the double burden of disease (Communicable & Non-Communicable Diseases). A surgical theatre is incorporated into the MCC, as well as facilities for telemedicine.”

“Each MCC costs N95 million. Two platforms have been established for fund raising towards this project. The Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) facilitated the formation of a special short code (44777) which is common to all networks. Interswitch Nigeria Ltd also established a common code (777526) for electronic donation.”