No fewer than 200 women in Okpekpe, Etsako East Local Government Area of Edo, on Wednesday benefited from a free-breast-cancer screening organised by a Lagos-based-cancer centre, Sebeccly Cancer Care.
Dr Omolola Salako, the Executive Director of the organisation, said that two of the screened women were confirmed to have breast cancer.
“We are conducting cancer screening and we have detected two-breast abnormality.
“One is a confirmed breast-cancer patient while the second has a breast-cancer abnormality and we are referring them to a general hospital for surgery,’’ she said.
Salako said that the centre did not only screen, but also ensured that those confirmed to have breast cancer were treated and paid for by it.
“We don’t just screen and abandon patients because the two women that had been confirmed as having cases of breast cancer were diagnosed a while ago, but they couldn’t afford the cost of treatment.
“So, it is such people that matter to us and are most needed to be treated.
“We are not going to abandon them, we are starting here, charity begins at home, the screening is here and the indigenes must benefit, ’’she said.
Salako noted that the centre annually used to screen no fewer than 2,000 women at different breast-cancer campaigns across the country.
She said that the present cancer awareness campaign was to provide free breast and cervical cancer awareness and screening for women in the council area.
She said that the initiative was also aimed at bringing information about cancer to the grassroots.
“We felt that we needed to contribute to the screening and spread the message about cancer.
“The best way is not only by talking but by actually doing something positive that will make it have impact on the women, ‘’she said.
She urged well meaning Nigerians, governments and corporate organisations to support the fight against breast cancer by donating money to support the treatment of financially constrained breast-cancer patients.
“We urge them to also support the building of the first Cancer Survivorship Centre in Nigeria,’’ Salako said.
Mr Salaam Afolabi, the Head of Programs and Advocacy at the Centre, said that breast cancer was the most common cause of cancer death worldwide.
Afolabi, while educating the beneficiaries, said that the cancer incidents keep increasing in the country.
He urged women to go for screening yearly for an early detection of breast cancer.
“The cause of breast cancer is still unknown, but there are so many things that can cause cancer. For women with breast cancer to be alive, screening and early detection are important.
“With early detection and treatment, most women will continue to live their normal lives,’’ he said.
One of the beneficiaries, Mrs Elizabeth Iyora, commended the centre for the free-screening.
Iyora urged other organisations and Non-Governmental bodies to emulate the kind gesture. (NAN)