One in four cancer cases in Nigeria now breast cancer  — Oyo health commissioner

OYO State Commissioner for Health, Dr Oluwaserimi Ajetunmobi, has said breast cancer is the leading cancer in Nigeria, accounting for about one in four of all cancers and indicates the need for a systematic improvement in breast health promotion, early diagnosis and treatment.

Dr Ajetunmobi said everyone should keep an eye on the wellbeing of significant women in their lives, while calling for a sense of community awareness, encouraging regular screenings and championing the resilience of survivors.

Speaking at the ministry’s commemoration of the 2023 Breast Cancer Awareness Month at the Secretariat, Ibadan, she described breast cancer as the commonest worldwide among females, saying that it affects black women more while its exact causes are not fully understood.

According to her, factors known and linked to increasing the risk of breast cancer include age (the risk increases as one gets older), family history, previous diagnosis, breast lumps, obesity and excessive alcohol intake.

“Breast cancer can also occur in younger women and men; this makes breast self-examination important. Any change in breast consistency needs to be seen by the doctor; lumps need to be removed for examination in the laboratory.

“So, today is a call to everyone, irrespective of gender, to participate and remind their loved ones, such as their wives, mothers, sisters and even close friends, to perform monthly breast self-examinations.

“Women must examine their breasts; that is when they will be able to know if there is anything there. Except we check every month, we wouldn’t know if there is anything strange occurring there.

“If a woman is over 40 years of age, she needs to go for routine mammography to detect this lethal condition and nip it in the bud, as prevention, they say, is better than cure,” she said.

Permanent Secretary, Oyo State Ministry of Health, Dr Olusoji Adeyanju, in his welcome address, said the havoc wreaked by breast cancer cannot be handled alone by a single individual, calling on health providers to unite with persons with breast cancer and their relatives in the area of prevention, detection and treatment.

Dr Adeyanju said survivors of breast cancer in the community can testify to the fact that it is amenable to treatment if it is detected early, adding that the breast cancer awareness month logo, which is pink, also represents the courage to fight, the hope and the willingness of people to support those with the cancer.

In her remarks, national president of the Breast Cancer Association of Nigeria (BRECAN), Ambassador Tolu Taiwo, said breast cancer has become a national health emergency which government at all levels must see as a health priority.

According to her, deaths due to breast cancer in the community are alarming, with many teenagers now found to have breast lumps, lamenting that many cancer patients, rather than go to the hospital, now receive care for the condition at home.