Dr Okpako Okpikpi, Coordinator, National Cancer Control Programme (NCCP)
By Cecilia Ologunagba
Dr Okpako Okpikpi, Coordinator, National Cancer Control Programme (NCCP) at the Federal Ministry of Health,has urged Nigerians to undergo regular cancer screening to ensure early detection and treatment.
Okpikpi told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Sunday that it was equally important to undergo regular screening for cancer to reduce the number of deaths arising from the disease.
He was speaking in commemoration of the 2020 edition of the International Cancer Week.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that according to the National Cancer Prevention and Control Plan (2018-2022), cancer is responsible for 72,000 deaths in the country annually, with an estimated 102,000 new cases every year.
The NCCP coordinator urged women in particular to regularly examine their breasts, and undertake cervical cancer screening every three years.
We mean that women should examine their breasts often;cervical cancer screening should be done every three years, and men above 40 years should undergo regular Prostate Specific Antigen Test.
After undergoing the tests, you will be properly advised on what to do; whether by way of treatment or further tests, he said.
Okpikpi said that breast cancer was the commonest type of cancer in Nigeria, saying, this is followed by cervical cancer, while prostate cancer is the commonest among men.
It is very important to seek medical attention early, if a woman notices any lump in her breasts, she has to quickly see a doctor, he said.
The coordinator said that although some hospitals in the country offered chemotherapy, they faced limitations in radiotherapy.
It is capital-intensive and difficult to have radiotherapy in all hospitals, so government upgraded some teaching hospitals. They are called Oncology Centres of Excellence, he said.
The centres are located at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Benin; Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Lagos and University College Hospital, Ibadan.
Others are at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu, Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital, Sokoto, Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria and the National Hospital, Abuja. (NAN)
Source: NAN News