Smoking, alcohol predispose ladies to breast cancer; I’m an example —Survivor

A breast cancer survivor, Miss Nurat Salmon has advised women in general and young ladies in particular to shun alcohol and cigarette, so as not to expose themselves to the dangers of the disease.
Nurat spoke during a sensitization programme on breast cancer awareness and screening for women, organized by the 571 Detachment of the Nigeria Air Force on Saturday July 8 at Abake Estate, Akobo, Ibadan, Oyo State.
Nurat, who had one of her breasts removed in April this year and is still undergoing chemotherapy, told the gathering the story of her surviving the dreaded disease.
According to her, “when I noticed a lump in my breast in October 2016, I went to a government hospital in Lagos, where I had given birth to my baby, but was told to ignore it, as it could be breast engorgement, since I was still breastfeeding my baby.
“However, I kept going, but at a time, I had to stop because I was not feeling any pain. I just started feeling the pain towards the end of January this year. I called Dr Saidat Akanbi of Cancer Carelink. By then, my breast had swollen so much that the pain was intense. When I was told that it was cancer, I told the doctor to remove the breast so that I could have peace.
“After the diagnosis in February, this year, I was in low spirit, but then, Cancer Care Link came in. After the breast was removed, the doctors took the lump to the laboratory, and the result came that it was Triple Negative. When I read that, I knew it was just God, because Triple Negative is one that you hardly see anyone survive.
“That was why I decided to spread the news to everybody around me. I am also appreciative of the care and love Cancer Care Link showed me that I could make it. At a point during chemotherapy sessions, I felt I couldn’t go on.
“During my first chemotherapy, I felt I was about to give up, but all through the surgery, I was not feeling any pain, until after about two weeks, when I started feeling headache, and wouldn’t be able to sleep at night. That was before the chemotherapy, but during those times, Dr Saidat of Cancer Carelink was always encouraging me, that it was just a matter of time, and here I am today.”
Nurat also said that the thought of bearing the cost of the surgery and chemotherapy almost scared her. “The first day I heard about the cost, I felt I couldn’t do it because my father is a retired civil servant, and he is not even collecting his pension. And my mother is a trader, while I am a student; I just graduated from the Lagos State University. So I didn’t know where I would get the N200,000 for the surgery which I was to do at LASUTH.
“I eventually had the surgery in a private hospital in Lagos and was thereafter brought to Ibadan by Carelink and handed over to one doctor at the University College Hospital (UCH) Ibadan for Chemotherapy. And he had been treating me excellently.”
When asked questions on what she felt predisposed her to cancer, Nurat, a 30-year-old mother of one, disclosed: “I used to smoke and take alcohol in the past, and medical research has said alcohol and cigarette can cause cancer. I took alcohol and smoked for like five or six years before I stopped five years ago.”
Attributing her past life to bad company, the cancer advised young ladies to learn from experience: “To the ladies who take alcohol and cigarette, they should just stop.”
She also gave word of advice to those currently battling with the disease: “They should know that the surgery is nothing. If I can make it, anybody can make it.
In fact, on the day of the surgery, I kept telling the doctors that they should do it fast, and they were surprised I was not scared. I even told them I would be up in the next two or three hours after the surgery.
Those going for surgery should not be scared. Like I wrote on my social media page that ‘Cancer doesn’t kill, depression does.’ Women going for surgery should not be depressed, and that is what is keeping me.”
In her health talk on breast cancer, Dr Akanbi, who is also the founder and lead convener, Cancer Care Link, told the gathering comprising of Air Force officers’ wives and residents of Abake Estate where the event was held, that breast cancer was the most common cancer affecting women in Nigeria.
“In fact, it is the commonest cause of cancer deaths among women in Nigeria. It is said that at least, 40 women die from breast cancer every day, and at least 500,000 new cases are discovered every year. So breast cancer is a big health issue in Nigeria,” she said.
Dr Akanbi pointed out that in developed countries, women also have breast cancer, but they don’t die from it because they detect it early and they go to the hospital and receive care.
“Unfortunately in Nigeria, our women are not detecting breast cancer early due to many reasons. One of the reasons is that they are not aware of the early signs and symptoms. Also, when they discover unusual symptoms in their breasts, they don’t have access to care; they don’t have financial power for screening that will help them detect the cancer early,” she added.
She disclosed that the level of poverty that prevents many women from seeking help in hospital, prompted her to float Cancer Carelink. According to her, “I once worked in a breast cancer clinic, and I became perturbed by the number of women who kept trooping in to access breast cancer care. They were coming with a stage of breast cancer that had spread all over their bodies, and at that time, there was little that could be done.
“So I felt that instead of sitting down in the hospital, why not go and talk to them, examine them in their communities, and that is what we are doing now.
We are trying to link women to healthcare resources. However, our target is for women who are underserved, and those who are under-insured.”
In his remarks, the Commander of the Air Force Detachment, Air Commodore Emmanuel Akinbayo, said that the sensitization programme was in line with the Chief of Air Staff’s initiative to pay significant attention to the general well-being of Air Force personnel, the relations and member of the host communities
“The Nigerian Air Force sees the medical wellbeing of personnel and their families to be paramount and in that regard, the Chief of Air Staff mandated us to make sure that we organize breast cancer awareness and training.
“I want to point out here that in the military, or everywhere, our wives are the better parts of us, so since we have most of our personnel fighting in the North East, they are fighting to bring peace to the country, and they have their have their families back home, it is paramount for us to ensure that their families are well taken care of.
“The programme is, however, not limited to the families of the Airforce personnel alone. We are also extending it to our host community, and we made them to know that more will still come. The next stage will be the prostate cancer, mainly for the men. Ninety nine percent of breast cancer affects women; prostate cancer affect men,” Akinbayo said.