Wealthy Nigerians should assist in reducing cancer spread – UCH CMD

• Prof.  Alonge

The Chief Medical Director (CMD) of the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, Professor Temitope Alonge, yesterday appealed to wealthy Nigerians including politicians to assist in the current efforts at curtailing spread of cancer among Nigerian women.
He said necessary enlightenment, diagnosis and treatment of the disease required joint efforts of all to reduce it in the country. Alonge made the appeal while speaking with journalists shortly after the opening session of one week international scientific seminar on cancer held at the UCH.
The seminar, which has the theme: “The role of Pathologists in Oncologic Diagnosis and Management,” was organised by the West African Division International Academy of Pathology, WADIAP, in conjunction with the United States and Canadian Academy of Pathology, Friends of Africa and AORTIC.
According to him, funding remains key in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer especially among women, maintaining that in as much as the UCH and its medical personnel were ready to also enlighten people about the disease and offer best of treatment for those already with the disease wherever they may be in the country, wealthy individuals and politicians need to offer their own assistance too to reduce the number of those affected in the country.
The President of WADIAP, Dr. Yawale Illiyasu, also suggested the creation of six diagnostic centres across Nigeria to assist in the early detection of cancer among women in the country, stating; “prevention is always better and cheaper than cure.”
Present at the seminar include guest lecturer, Professor Steffen Hauptmann of Institute of Pathology Hamburg, Lademannbogen, Hamburg, Germany; Professor Adekunle Adesina of Baylor College of Medicine, Houston Texas and Dr. Oyedele Adeyi of University of Toronto, Canada, among others.
They all agreed that all hands must be on deck to curb the spread of breast cervical and liver cancer among women in the West Africa sub-region especially in Nigeria.
They also called for collaboration among public and private sectors in the funding of diagnosis and treatment of the disease, adding that there should be massive enlightenment of women in the sub-region on the need for them to make themselves readily available for test for the disease. They maintained that this has contributed immensely to the reduction of cancer cases in Europe.
– National Mirror