Cancer: NGO examines over 80 thousand people

The Lift Above Poverty Organisation (LAPO), a non-governmental organisation, disclosed it has examined 86,198 persons for different types of cancers between 2016 and 2022. Dr Honestus Obadiora, the Executive Director of LAPO, revealed this during the organisation’s Annual Media Forum in Benin on Monday.

Obadiora said the screening was done under the LAPO Community Campaign for Cancer Control (LAPO -C4) programme in selected states of the country.

He said, “between January 2016 and December 2022, LAPO-C4 project created awareness about cancer in target communities and sensitised 3,368,142 community members against cancer”.

“About 86,198 of the beneficiaries were screened and referred for further screening and treatment in government-approved health facilities.” He attributed the problems militating against cancer control in Nigeria to inadequate awareness and poor access to screening services.

The executive director, however, said that almost 102,000 new cases of cancer occur annually in Nigeria with more than 60 per cent in women due to breast and cervical cancer. However, Obadiora counselled women to go for regular checks, and to boost their health status, as breast and cervical cancers posed a serious threat to their lives.

According to him, with early detection, more than 80 per cent of cancer cases are preventable, while 40 per cent of the disease can be eradicated by lifestyle changes.

NAN/WUMI