Prostate cancer kills 14 men everyday in Nigeria, Dr Abia Nzelu,
coordinator, National Cancer Prevention Programme (NCPP), Lagos State branch,
has said.
Nzelu, who said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria
(NAN) in Lagos on Tuesday, noted that the figure was based on studies.
She said that most men report their cancer cases late when the symptoms
had already manifested and attributed the situation to ignorance. According to
her, people die unnecessarily, even when they are diagnosed because there are
no facilities to treat them. “Prostate cancer, the second commonest cancer in
men, kills 14 men in Nigeria every day. This is not acceptable because it can
be prevented.
“India has over 120 comprehensive cancer centres and we don’t have even
one centre that has everything to take care of any kind of cancer and carry out
world class research. “We need something like this in our country. Some of
those who have cancer can afford to travel for medical attention, but what of
those that cannot? “In Nigeria, cancer is like a death sentence that is why
most deaths here are unnecessary; they are untimely. “When we had the Dana
crash, we were all shouting, but each day people are dying of cancer. They are
dying silently, that is why we are not doing anything about it,” she said.
Nzelu said prevention should be through life- style modification,
screening and routine checkups, at least once a year for those who are 40 and
above. She noted that regular exercise, losing weight and imbibing the culture
of health maintenance could reduce the risk by 50 per cent. She advocated the
establishment of cancer centres in each of the six-geopolitical zones, adding
that such centres could be built through self-help projects rather than waiting
for government. “The only way to go about it is to get our own comprehensive
cancer centres and we cannot wait for government to get them,” Nzelu noted.
Tribune Nigeria
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