AWCAA: 60% of Breast Cancer Cases in Nigeria Diagnosed at Late Stages of Affliction

Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja

Africa Women Cancer’s Awareness Association (AWCAA) has expressed concern over the dangers posed by late testing and diagnosis of breast cancer in Nigeria

It said that low level of awareness among Nigerians and lack of early testing have resulted in fatalities from the disease.

Speaking at a Breast Cancer NGO Summit in Abuja on Thursday, Founder of AWCAA, Mrs. Ify Nwabukwu said that the critical point in dealing with the cancer scourge is the emphasis on early detection through testing.

She said that late detection of cancer often spells doom for the victims and makes treatment and recovery very difficult.

In terms of statistics, Nwabukwu said that records show that many cases of cancer in the country were diagnosed very late.

She said: “For Africans and Nigeria, 60 to almost 80 percent show up at the hospital when cancer is already in late stage. And what is late stage? Stage three, stage four, stage five. Before you know it is that going up to other parts of the body. We don’t want that to be happening.

Nwabukwu said her organization which started off in the United States of America is now in Nigeria collaborating with other stakeholders to promote right breast cancer response practice.

“My concentration is on breast cancer. Who has breast cancer and so to do that, we have a board of directors. One of them, she’s the oncologist at the National Hospital.

“But what is important to me is, again, where are we at the breast cancer space in my country, which is Nigeria, so we have ground ambassadors who do community outreach in churches, in different places, where you can educate our women.

Speaking further, Nwabukwu said: “ We want you to know your body, know what your breast looks like, so that you that has the breast will know if something is not looking right.

“You need to know the color of your breast, the shape of your breast, and at all cost, is there any crack? Are there any basic signs and symptoms that tell you something is wrong? “

Speaking about the driving force behind her venturing into cancer awareness campaign, Nwabukwu said that apart from being a cancer survivor, she had also seen her mother battle the ailment till death.

“The very purpose and the reason why we started was to be able to create a forum where we as Africans can find comfort, can educate ourselves, can do a lot of patient navigation, to work for our people,” she said.

Another cancer survivor, Denise Igoh called on government to redirect the advocacy campaigns against cancer to involve sensitization of young people beginning from their school days.

President of the Cancer Society of Nigeria, Prof. Abidemi Omonisi, spoke of the need to give more voice to cancer survivors so that they can help dispel fears that cancer is a death sentence.

He also commended recent efforts by key stakeholders including the federal government and World Health Organization (WHO) mobilize funds to assist in cancer prevention and treatment in the country.

He said that federal government should be commended for initiating for first time a national action plan to tackle cancer.

Under the plan, he explained that the government strives to put in place relevant infrastructure including medical personnel that will ensure proper testing and diagnosis for cancer.

A representative of Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and Coordinator of National Cancer Control Initiative, Dr. Uche Nwaokwu, enjoined many of the cancer survivors known as Champions of Cancer for life to see themselves as real ambassadors and face of the national campaign against cancer.

One of the cancer survivors who attended the event, a retired federal civil servant, said she went through a lot including financial and psychological stress while treating the disease.