A radiologist, Prof. Gbadebo Awosanya, on Friday urged women to go for post menopausal mammographic screening yearly for early detection of breast cancer.
Awosanya, who is the Provost, Lagos State University College of Medicine (LASUCOM), made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.
“The breasts are liable and exposed to cancer when they attain menopause because they become empty and fatty,” he said.
The provost said that with a yearly post menopausal mammographic screening, lumps if detected would be treated early.
“Breast cancer risk increases with age; two out of three invasive breast cancers are found in women over 55 years old.
“Breast cancer is not a death sentence as long as early treatment follows detection of lumps,” he said.
According to Awosanya, breast cancer is the most common cause of cancer death worldwide as the incident keeps increasing in the country.
Awosanya urged men to wash their hands and free them from germs before handling a woman’s breasts so as not to infect them.
He also advised the women to avoid wearing brazier throughout the day to prevent the black spots and infection.
“Breast should be handled with outmost care because of its sensitivity.
“If you are busty as a woman, please flaunt it, do not wear brazier all through the day for your health sake,” he said.
Awosanya further urged the Federal Government to provide the Positron Emission Tomography (PET) equipment in each of the six geopolitical zones of the country.
He said that the government should also set aside a reasonable amount to fund research and retraining of university teachers.
According to him, the situation in Nigeria presently is precarious, as the only functioning radiotherapy machine, a linear accelerator in Benin, Edo, had broken down.
The provost urged the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital to separate Diagnostic Radiology and Radiotherapy, as this would allow a multi-dimensional growth of radiotherapy.
“The state government should as a matter of priority, procure a therapy machine that will be put in use soonest, as more cancer are radiosensitive than chemo-sensitive,” he said. (NAN)