BY CHIOMA OBINNA

Incorporation of Nigerian youths into the cancer awareness campaign has been identified as a major weapon in the fight against cancer. Hence the training of Nigerian youths to become cancer- wise is desirable.

A Consultant Radiologists from the College of Medicine in the University Teaching Hospital Nsuka, Prof Ifeoma Okoye who spoke to Good Health Weekly during the 2011 World Cancer Day Youth Jamboree” organised by the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) in Lagos, argued that making youths more proactive in the fight against cancer is necessary since research has shown that over 40 per cent of cancers can be prevented and prevention starts from young age.

Okoye who disclosed that already 5000 Nigerian youth corpers have been trained to become foot soldiers with a view to creating awareness in the nooks and crannies of the country,said the concept of the World Cancer Day Jamboree was to change the altitude of Nigerian youths about cancer as well as cut down the risks of them coming down with cancer, she added.

“Because cancer can take like five to 10 years to develop in your body, if you develop a habit, of living the right lifestyle, you can cut than your risk by 40 per cent and that will definitely be a serious advantage. We are talking about adopting the right lifestyle by changing your sexual life, eating vegetables, drinking water and eating less carbohydrate as well as sugar. Global effort is geared towards

equivalent to a death sentence and in Nigeria we are discovering it when it is late. Over 70 per cent are coming to the hospital with late cancer all because of lack of knowledge not because there are no expertise but because most of them believed their cancer was as a result of witchcraft and when they came late, there is nothing much to do than to keep them comfortably till the time of death. Let us embrace early detection as cancer based research has found that it could cure your cancer”

National President of the Nigeria Medical Association, (NMA), Dr. Omede Idris stressed that the key word to reducing incidences of cancer is by creating awareness on the need to prevent cancer from developing. “As an individual it is very expensive to treat. No matter how the government subsidise it, it may still be out of the reach of the sufferers. Basically cancers as it were, they are expensive conditions to treat. That is why we are talking very much more of creating awareness about subjecting ourselves to the basic screening so that by the time they are detected early, the cost of management will be less than when they are detected late.”

He charged Nigerians to take charge of their health “Our lifestyles’ activities have a lot of roles in reducing the incidence of cancer in Nigeria.”

changing their habits so that they can stand a better chance of reducing the alarming statistics that in 2015, one out of two people will have cancer”

To ensure that the fight against cancer does not end after the WCD, Okoye said the youths have started setting up Cancer Clubs in secondary schools as part of strategies to promote the message that cancer is preventable and curable if detected early.

“Cancer, a disease entity, is not a disease we should handle with kid gloves. It is a disease entity that we must be aware of, know more about it, what we need to do to change our habit and see that we move forward into action. “Right now cancer diagnosis is equivalent to a death sentence and in Nigeria we are discovering it when it is late. Over 70 per cent are coming to the hospital with late cancer all because of lack of knowledge not because there are no expertise but because most of them believed their cancer was as a result of witchcraft and when they came late, there is nothing much to do than to keep them comfortably till the time of death. Let us embrace early detection as cancer based research has found that it could cure your cancer”

National President of the Nigeria Medical Association, (NMA), Dr. Omede Idris stressed that the key word to reducing incidences of cancer is by creating awareness on the need to prevent cancer from developing. “As an individual it is very expensive to treat. No matter how the government subsidise it, it may still be out of the reach of the sufferers. Basically cancers as it were, they are expensive conditions to treat. That is why we are talking very much more of creating awareness about subjecting ourselves to the basic screening so that by the time they are detected early, the cost of management will be less than when they are detected late.”

He charged Nigerians to take charge of their health “Our lifestyles’ activities have a lot of roles in reducing the incidence of cancer in Nigeria.”