NAN Archive

Loading

NAN Archive

Tag foundationCANCER

Health

NGO seeks institutional action on cancer care

By Chinenye Offor
Cancer
Abuja, Feb. 2, 2019 (NAN) Project Pink Blue, a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), has urged the Federal government to create an institutional action on care of cancer.

The Executive Director, Project Pink Blue, Mr Runcie Chidebe, made the call on Saturday in Abuja during a walk in commomeration of World Cancer Day.

He noted that the event was a day set aside to create awareness on cancer.

According to him, the government, stakeholders and individuals have a role to play in reducing the burden of cancer in the society.

Chidebe decried the 2018 huge figure of 1,115 people diagnosed with cancer and about 72,000 thousand deaths in the society by the World Health Organization.

He said that such figure called for urgent intervention and advocated for more screening centres and equipment, adding that it will help reduce deaths.

“In Nigeria today, cancer treatment is nothing to write home about because some of the equipment and facilities are not working.

“If you have cancer today in our society, you are on your own and this calls for action from the government in order to curb the disease.

“We are loosing our mentors, mothers, fathers and children to cancer that the developed countries are curtailing,” he said.

He therefore urged everyone to get tested for cervical, breast and prostate cancer, adding that early detection alone cannot save life but combination of early detection with treatment.

Chidebe further said that his foundation was using the day to target and give free cervical, breast and prostate cancer screenings to 1000 patients.

Ms Owen Omegefo, the Managing Director of Transcop Hilton Abuja and Calabar, said they were supporting project in raising awareness on cancer.

Omegefo who defeated cancer, urged everyone to get tested, saying that early detection is key to survival.

She further said that it was important to get screened for cancer irrespective of age, adding that she was diagnosed of cervical cancer at age 29 and attributed her survival to early detection and treatment.

she therefore enjoined everyone to make life style changes such as eating healthy foods and exercising, among others, as it was another way of combating cancer. (NAN)
CSO/CHOM/MST
Edited by Chioma Ugboma/Muhammad Suleiman Tola

General news

Declare cancer national emergency, Foundation urges FG

Declare cancer national emergency, Foundation urges FG
By Chinenye Offor
Cancer
Abuja, Sept. 18, 2018 (NAN) The Executive Director, Project Pink Blue, Mr Runcie Chidebe, has urged the Federal Government to declare cancer as a national emergency and establish more centres with functional for cancer management.
Chidebe made the appeal in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Abuja.
He said cancer should be made a national issue in terms of awareness creation, funding and creation of more cancer screening facilities in the country to reduce deaths and long queues witnessed at screening centres.
Chidebe said that the foundation was raising more public awareness and educating policy makers on the scourge and how it could be reduced.
He described the increased rate of cancer in Nigeria as pathetic, saying the country records “over 100,000 new cases and about 72,000 deaths annually’’.
The executive director said cancer as a major public health issue for Nigeria needed to be treated as a national problem, adding that “without intervention from government the figures will increase’’
“Nigeria has all the manpower and some equipment in diagnosing cancer but we need the government to make cancer screening a national health priority.
“Late diagnosis is one of the factors that kill people; we encourage people to go for regular screening of cervical, breast and prostate cancer.
“Some cancers are preventable so we encourage people to make life style changes exercise regularly, eat more of vegetables and reduce weight if overweight,’’ he said.
Chidebe also urged the federal government to give more training to Oncologists and other healthcare providers in order to improve their capacity to work effectively.
“Without government intervention, the figures will increase; it is a major public health issue for Nigeria that needed to be treated as a national problem,’’ he said.
Ms Theodora Zita, a survivor of breast cancer, also Nigerians to get tested for cancer and stressed that early detection was key to survival.
According to her, lack of proper information and access to health screening facilities are contributory factors to the increased of deaths from the disease.
Zita also said that creating awareness was important in the fight against cancer.
“People should be informed about cancer that it is not a death sentence and starting treatment early, if diagnosed of it, also increases chance of survival.
“I encourage anyone suffering from any form of cancer to start treatment immediately.
“Stop saying it is not my portion, stop going from one prayer house to the other, you can be praying while taking the treatment,” she said.
Besides, the survivor called on stakeholders and policy makers to create more awareness on cancer to help fight the scourge. (NAN)
CSO/GOM/MST
Edited by Gregory Mmaduakolam/Muhammad Suleiman Tola

Health

Declare cancer national emergency – Foundation urges FG

Declare cancer national emergency – Foundation urges FG
By Chinenye Offor
Awareness
Abuja, April 5, 2018 (NAN) Mr Runcie Chidebe, the Executive Director, Project Pink Blue, has urged the Federal Government to declare cancer as a national emergency.
Chidebe told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Abuja that the call was pertinent because of the pathetic increase in cancer cases in the country.
He therefore advised government to treat the problem by providing more facilities for cancer screening and treatment.
“In Nigeria presently, there are over 100,000 new cancer cases annually and about 72,000 deaths attributable to cancer annually.
“Cancer is a major public health issue for Nigeria that needs to be treated as a national problem. Without intervention from government the figures will increase,’’ he said.
Chidebe underscored the need for government to make cancer a national issue through awareness creation and establishment of more cancer screening facilities in the country.
He said creation of more awareness and screening centres would reduce deaths and long queues witnessed at the centres.
According to the executive director, lack of proper information, access to health screening facilities contributes to the increasing death figures arising from the disease.
“Nigeria has all the manpower and some equipment in diagnosing cancer but we need the government to make cancer screening a national health priority.
“Late diagnosis is one of the factors that kill people; we encourage people to go for regular screening of cervical, breast and prostate cancer.
“Some cancers are preventable so we encourage people to make lifestyle changes, exercise regularly, eat more of vegetables and reduce weight, if overweight,’’ he said.
Besides, Chidebe appealed to the federal government to give more training to oncologists and other healthcare providers so they would have the capacity to discharge their duties effectively.
He urged that people should be informed that cancer was not a death sentence, saying that early treatment of the disease increased chances of survival.
He urged Nigerians to imbibe the culture of going for annual medical checkup and screening, among others.
Chidebe called on stakeholders and policy makers to create more cancer awareness in order to help fight the scourge. (NAN)
CSO/COF/MST
Edited by Oluyinka Fadare/Muhammad Suleiman Tola