By Demola Akinyemi Ilorin

The immediate past First Lady of Kwara State and founder of LEAH Foundation, Dr. (Mrs.) Omolewa Ahmed, has appealed to the women folks to prioritize their health by taking out of their precious time to go for regular cancer screening and medical checkups, noting that early detection saves lives.

The former first lady who also cautioned against stigmatisation,that it’s a fight we all need to fight spoke at the 8th edition of “Walk for Hope” ,in Ilorin on Saturday in commemoration of breast cancer awareness month marked globally,

Mrs. Ahmed said her advocacy is inspired by her commitment to protecting families and promoting women’s health.

“Whatever happens to my family happens to me, so I am coming out representing my family and all my fans to say this: tell your wives, your sisters, your mothers—go and check yourselves,” she urged.

According to her, early detection of cancer remains one of the most effective ways to prevent severe complications and death.

“Early detection is very cheap. When you discover this early, you can survive it, even avoid it entirely. Once you know it early, you take it off and you are free from it,” she explained.

Mrs. Ahmed, whose foundation has been actively involved in health sensitization across Nigeria, said her partnership with other health advocacy groups like the M.E.R.E Foundation is driven by the need to remind people that health should always come first.

“What matters most is good health. Most people joke with their health, but I am joining this cause to tell everyone that the first thing you must take care of is your health. No amount of money can replace it. So, we are advocating for regular checkups and cancer screening, especially for women above fifty,” she added.

She concluded by challenging women to take charge of their wellbeing through preventive health practices. “I really challenge every woman out there—go for screening, know your status, and take action early. Good health is the foundation of everything else,” she said.

She also disclosed that men in recent times now present themselves for breast cancer,as such the scourge no longer affect the women folks only.

She said though the percentage is few but she commended the men for their support urging them to continue to lend their voices to campaign of early screen of the ailment.

“Breast cancer is not an ailment that affect women alone,few percentage of men now present themselves for breast cancer, I want to commend the level of cooperation from the male folk ” she said.

She said some women came out late for checks because of stigmatization, enjoining people to stop stigmatizing anyone diagnosed with cancer adding that it’s a fight we all need to come together be it religious body, philanthropists,NGOs to confront.

Mrs Ahmed emphasized early presentation for screening as major factor in combating the ailment adding that for this month in commemoration of breast cancer awareness month the screening is free of charge at the LEAH clinics.

Speaking separately, the star actors, Abiola Adebayo and Tope Adebayo said they are joining the walk to create awareness that it’s important for people to know their status as the ailment is prevent but late detection cost a lot