Nigeria loses 80,000 Lives Yearly To Cancer

Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. Not all tumors are cancerous; benign tumors do not spread to other parts of the body. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal bleeding, prolonged cough, unexplained weight loss and a change in bowel movements,  according to Wikipedia.

Partnership for Eradication of Cancer in Africa (PECA  has  raised the alarm that Nigeria was losing 80,000 lives yearly to cancer and the death ratio in the country was four in five which was regarded as the worst in the World.

 Experts  have also predicted that by the year 2020 cancer cases in Nigeria will rise from 24 to 42 million and cancer deaths  will rise to 72.7/100,00 and 76/100000 for men and women  respectively.

To tackle the scourge, PECA will today at the Jabi lake recreational ground, stage a Walk and Dance “against cancer in an effort to attract  the girl child and women who are prone to cervical cancer. 

Nigerians are expected to walk and dance during the programme after discussion on the issue by PECA while donating to the course.

The Chief Operations Officer of PECA Dr. Gregoire Williams explained that the programme was a School-based vaccination initiative aimed at keeping parents and women informed about the disease.

“According to the WHO, Nigeria has the highest cancer death rate in Africa. The country’s profile for the disease shows that about 10,000 cancer deaths and 250,000 new cases are recorded early.”

The PECAN boss disclosed that “Nigeria ranked 10th in the cervical cancer death toll worldwide with 48 million women at risk, 17,550 women are diagnosed yearly, 9,659 women die annually and 26 women daily in Nigeria alone”

In a bid to attract public attention towards the cervical cancer, Williams said that “the absence of an HPV anti-cancer vaccination programme mean that cost effective options to stem the cancer incidence is being left unlocked. PECA believes that every child deserves a right to be saved from cancer incidence in the first instance through prevention”  

According to reports only 21 out of Africa’s 53 nations have any access  to potentially lifesaving therapy and the least able of all developing countries to cope with the disease due to lack of relevant resources, basic infrastructures and skilled personnel to conduct cancer screening, early diagnosis treatment of palliative  care support.

The World Health organisation predicts that from year 2030, there will be 13 million new cases of cancer every year and with 70 per cent of it occurring in developing countries (about 8.8 million) and sub Saharan Africa shouldering over a million cases.