Cancer survivor: ‘I realised it grows inside of you’
I visited the doctor because I was having an unusual pain in my leg, X-rays did not show anything abnormal, but the doctors recommended a Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) just in case. On June 6, 2013, Dozie found out he had cancer of the bone.
Osteosarcoma, a rare type of bone cancer found mostly in children and teenagers, was discovered in his right femur, or thigh bone. Within a month of being diagnosed he began chemotherapy. “I didn’t know anything about cancer, I didn’t know anything about chemotherapy,” he says. “It was really cruel. I would not wish that for anybody.”
Dozie Chukwu is an architect and surveyor; a graduate of the University of Lagos recollects his two-year journey of painful struggle to survive cancer. “At a point, I got to realise that cancer is in you, it grows inside of you and you cannot just ignore it, if you hope it will just go away, it won’t.
“Cancer is a serious disease, you have to take it seriously. It dragged me through the darkest hour, it has been a long journey, but I will get there and stay in control and take the wheel all the way,” Dozie said.
“My ordeal makes me understand pain. This is besides the drugs, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, the surgeries and the anxiety that you would die soon. But cancer is not a death sentence” he recounts.
“The harsh dots on my skin, the breakdown of hair scarp, the gradual deterioration into a skeletal figure, and the disappearance of the real me, the agony and the pressure on the cells in my body that give me pains in my bone, it is a hard experience for the cancer sufferer.”
But Dozie is among the lucky few who survive cancer. He lived to share his experience.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) cancer is responsible for three percent of total mortality in Nigeria, which translates to 72,000 deaths per annum.
Cancer is a class of diseases characterised by out-of-control cell growth. There are over 100 different types of cancer, and the type of cell that is initially affected classifies each.
The challenge is that this number is set to increase given that there are 102,000 new cases of cancer every year. This means that about 240 Nigerians die every day or 10 Nigerians every hour from cancer. Nigeria’s cancer mortality ratio of 4 in 5 affected persons is one of the worst in the world.
The burden of cancer in Nigeria is heavy but it is largely being ignored due to poor record keeping.
Based on the reality, cancer care is not where it should be in Nigeria due to lack of adequate cancer screening, awareness and cancer treatment centres. This means many citizens suffering from the disease eventually die miserably in pain and agony.
The good news however, is that early diagnosis of cancer generally increases the chances for successful treatment while delayed diagnosis lowers likelihood of survival, higher costs of care, avoidable deaths and disability from cancer.
Fear of the outcome of diagnosis, religious beliefs, financial constraints and low awareness of cancer signs, symptoms and facilities are some of the reasons for delay in cancer diagnosis.
Larne Yusuf, a general medical practitioner working in a private hospital, told BusinessDay that cancer affects millions of Nigerians each year, including those in treatment and those supporting their loved ones.
“It is not easy to talk about cancer, anyone can develop cancer at any point in his or her life time, but some people are more at risk due to factors such as genetic, habits, environment and some are caused by chronic infections.
“Cancer is preventable; we must therefore, end the ignorance about cancer and save lives. More efforts should be directed in the area of massive awareness of the general populace,” Lanre said.
Education and screening are major components of early detection. Experts say people need to adopt better lifestyle choices to reduce the prevalence of cancer in Nigeria.
“What I always tell people is that the lifestyle modification for cancer prevention is not different from lifestyle modifications that should be adopted for hypertension or diabetes mellitus,” says Oge Ilegbune, a general practitioner, head of strategy, development and outreach at Lakeshore Cancer Centre.
According to Ilegbune, “Most of the risk factors cut across the pathology and it still boils down to a healthy lifestyle: regular exercises, balanced diet, avoiding smoking, reduction of alcohol intake, reduce stress, get a good sleep, as they are directly or indirectly linked to cancer. It is important to be cautious of the environment in terms of pollution, including exhaust fumes from vehicles and other machines.
“If you notice that several people have died in your family due to the same form of cancer or a related cancer, you can do a genetic testing to know if you got the gene,” she said.
Experts say that to reduce the rise in cancer cases in Nigeria, there is need for adequate or effective control measures to curtail the disease, adequate funding to enhance early detection and treatment.
Runcie Chidebe, the executive director of Project PINK BLUE, said people can protect themselves against cancer with a vaccine. People rarely go to hospital or adopt preventive measure in their wellbeing, except they are carried to the hospital.
“Over the years, there have been series of information dissemination through different avenues to people on the importance of vaccination, especially polio but little emphasis has been focused on cancer prevention through vaccination or vaccines against cancer.
“The National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) should cover cancer treatment and Nigeria’s National Cancer Control Plan should be budgeted for and implemented. We could prevent cancer death by 25 percent.
“We also want to urge the Nigerian government to invest in cancer care and make cancer a health priority. I am appealing to all Nigerians to please go for screening regularly and make it a routine,” said Chidebe.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), there are about 24.6 million people living with cancer worldwide, while about 12.5 percent of all death is attributable to cancer.
Cancer mortality can be reduced if cases are detected and treated early, through early diagnosis and screening.
Recommendations according to the World Cancer Research Fund International (WCRFI) research show that about a third of the most common cancer are preventable through nutritious diets, maintain a healthy weight and regular physical activity.
Avoid high calorie foods and sugary drink, limit consumption of energy dense foods high in fats or low in fibre.
However, being physically active for at least 30 minutes every day is equivalent to brisk walking; limit sedentary habits such as watching television.
ANTHONIA OBOKOH