VANGUARD
For most Nigerians, a diagnosis of cancer is like a death sentence, but according to cancer experts, one of the secrets to surviving cancer is early diagnosis and treatment.
More than 40 percent of cancer-related deaths are preventable through routine screening, early detection and treatment, but every year, there are over 100,000 new cancer cases diagnosed along with several thousand cancer-related deaths in Nigeria.
Addressing this challenge is the rationale behind the efforts of the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority/ Lagos University Teaching Hospital (NSIA-LUTH) Cancer Centre, NLCC, to close the gap and other barriers in access to quality cancer care in the country.
The Centre Director, NLCC, Dr Lilian Ekpo, told Saturday Vanguard that cancer is a collective burden and so requires collective support to be affordable.
Her words, “The NLCC is a centre of excellence for the management of cancer in Nigeria, and our resolve is to fight cancer as one committed team made up of highly qualified clinical and radiation oncologists, medical physicists, therapy radiographers, oncology nurses, and other specialists.
“Cancer is not a death sentence once detected early, we need to emphasise this. For instance, cervical cancer is one of the easiest cancers to treat once detected early. It is very preventable and women are encouraged to take the Human Papilloma Vaccine for prevention.
“One of the key tools for treating cervical cancer is Pap Therapy which the NLCC has the first and only fully functional 3D pap smear machines, while other centres have 2D machines and this is pivotal in the treatment. We are focused on treatment.”
Noting that the centre boasts some of the most advanced equipment used in providing advanced treatment of various types of cancer, Ekpo said, “What should happen in our country and other Low and Middle-Income countries that struggle with resources, and where care, drugs, and cancer machines are expensive, is to focus on preventive efforts including screening.”
The Centre Director, said the NLCC has an in-house team, which is the largest clinical and radiation oncology expert staff in West Africa with 160 collective years of clinical oncology experience; 123 collective years in therapy radiography, and 56 collective years of experience in medical radiation physics.
“We want to champion a better way of doing things and build a clearer vision of the future -a future where people live healthier lives and have better access to health and cancer services.”
Noting the need for raising consciousness among policy and decision-makers to deepen their commitment to the world where cancer services are more accessible, Ekpo called for better understanding for everyone around a cancer participant during the process of accessing care so that the cancer scourge can be surmounted.
