By Demola Akinyemi, Ilorin

Wife of the immediate past governor of Kwara state,and founder of LEAH Foundation Mrs Omolewa Ahmed, has said that no fewer than 20,000 beneficiaries across the three senatorial districts of the state have been targeted for free cervical and prostate cancer screening.

Mrs Ahmed disclosed on Tuesday at the flag-off ceremony of the Prostate Cancer Initiative, in commemoration of the World Cancer Day 2025 organised by LEAH Foundation at Stadium Complex in Ilorin.

She said the initiative would focus more on the people at the grassroots due to their ignorance of the disease.

The former First Lady explained that lack of awareness has been the bane of the spread of the health challenge among the rural populace, noting that treatment of cancer is not too expensive when detected early.

Mrs Omolewa who harped on early screening to detect the status advised those diagnosed with cancer not to see it as a death sentence, noting that it is curable.

She also allayed the fear of participants that cancer is neither spiritual nor contagious.

In his lecture on Cancer Screening and Causes,a Urologist, from the Department of Surgery, University of Ilorin, Professor Popoola Ademola advised participants to take charge of their health by checking their status frequently.

He said prostate cancer is a well-known health challenge that affects many men in society, stressing that early screening is necessary in order to detect the status,and take appropriate medical steps .

Professor Ademola who complained of scarcity of Radiotherapy machine for early detection of prostate cancer urged the government at all levels to invest in the area, stressing that there’s none in the whole of Kwara state.

“There’s only one in the whole of Lagos state and it’s not easily accessible because it’s more of private inclined. There are pressures on it. Government should therefore invest in the area by procuring the machine “he stressed.

He also observed that Urologists are also scarce in Nigeria, saying that the four Urologists that he trained have left Nigeria for overseas countries for greener pastures.

Prof Ademola further admonishedthe government to give special packages that would discourage traveling on greener pastures for health workers.

Earlier in his address ,the Medical Director,LEAH Medical Centre,Dr.Oyinloye Gregory said the initiative started twelve years ago with emphasis on people at the grassroots.

He advised the participants to look beyond the screening and adhere strictly to the guidelines from experts.

One of the beneficiaries of the free Prostate cancer screening , Professor Bashir Omipidan commended the consistency of the organisers of the programme and appealed to wealthy individuals to support the initiative to save lives.