NAFDAC’s Acting Director General, Dr Monica Eimunjeze says Nigeria needs to address the epidemic of cancers frontally scientifically to increase the survival rate and reduce mortality from the disease.
This is coming as Me Cure Healthcare unveils the first ever cyclotron and Positron Emission Tomography-Computed Tomography (PET-CT) machine, in West Africa to make it easier to access in the region.
Cyclotron is a device that produces PET-CT tracers and other radiopharmaceutical reagents that are used to detect the physiological activities of cancer cells in the body. This is different from the conventional CT scan which only detects anatomical structures with less accuracy.
Dr Eimunjeze, unveiling the cyclotron and PET-CT at the Me Cure Cancer Centre in Lagos after a tour of the facility, said the facility was needed and has a place within the healthcare system because cancer has been declared of epidemic proportion within the country.
According to her, “it is a facility that is going to impact positively on the outcomes for patients who have cancers. The imaging facility can aid therapeutic interventions and allow clear localization of cancers at different stages.
“Established in Nigeria, it will reduce medical tourism and also become affordable and accessible to all Nigerians that need oncology care. We stand beside Me Cure and we use this opportunity to reach out to those who are so enabled to do what they can in this area, too.”
According to the Mecure management, the arrival of the cyclotron will reverse medical tourism and reduce the stress and cost of cancer care in Nigeria. Hence, it is good news for the entire Oncology patients, in Nigeria and West Africa.
The services are expected to be provided by certified and experienced professionals and managed by Dr Adeoluwa Adeniji, who is the Chief Medical Director and Consultant Radiation/Clinical Oncologist and Mr Daniel Kassegbama, who is the Chief Operating Officer with many years of experience in management processes.
At the event well attended were representatives of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria, PCN, Director of Pharmaceutical Services, PMGMAN, NAIP, Union Bank, Fidelity Bank, Bank of Industry (BOI), and CORDROS among others.
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