By Emmanuel Elebeke
ABUJA— Professor of Biochemistry, Faculty of Life Science, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Professor Sunday Atawodi, has said one person dies of cancer in Nigeria every seven minutes.
Prof. Atawodi spoke, yesterday, at the public lecture and induction of the Nigerian Academy of Engineers held in Abuja.
Atawodi, who spoke on the topic Cancer: Keeping the Monster at Bay, attributed the prevalence of cancer in Nigeria to ignorance and inadequate treatment facilities at various health institutions in the country.
The university don described cancer as a large group of disease characterized by uncontrolled growth and spread of abnormal cells in human body.
Quoting the latest official statistics released by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, IARC, an agency of the UN, he said there were 14.1 million new cancer cases worldwide, 8.2 million cancer deaths and 32.6 million people living with cancer (within 5 years of diagnosis).
