World Cancer Day: Experts Harp On Awareness As Key
As the world commemorate World Cancer Day, health experts in Nigeria have implore government at various levels to commence appraisal of the level of awareness amongst the citizenry.
This they said would help increase the quantity and improve the quality of information on Cancer that is available in the public domain.
The coordinator, Children with Cancer Intervention Initiative (CCII), Honor Onyebuchukwu, in an interview with newsmen said lack of awareness, has been discovered to be responsible for many if not all of the other shortcomings in the area of cancer management.
Onyebuchukwu said the top priority in the area of cancer management in Nigeria now is to raise awareness and educate people on how to fight cancer through healthy eating habits and lifestyles, being sensitive to related signs and symptoms, early detection through regular medical checkups and effective management through information on when, where and how to seek for help.
This singular action of awareness creation, according to the coordinator, will help demystify the plague of cancer, remove the damaging effect of stigmatization and the high level of commercialization in cancer treatment, and improve on the faith of the citizenry in the ability of medical practices to handle the plague.
“Further actions expected of our government are conscious, deliberate and planned action in the areas of training and retraining of every cadre of medical personnel involved in cancer management. Government should give access to recent research findings and update on cancer treatment and management to our medical personnel. They should also improve the provision of necessary infrastructures in the area of cancer management,” added Onyebuchukwu.
In the same vein, Assistant Coordinator, CCII, Akin Opayinka, also urged government to do more on awareness. He said, “Nigerians still don’t believe that children can have cancer. They believe that it is only adults that can develop the disease, so the government need to come out and educate Nigerians on that.
