Cancer Centre takes fight to secondary schools in Cross River

Asi Ukpo Comprehensive Cancer Center has taken the fight against breast cancer to secondary schools in Cross River.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Centre, which commenced its campaigns to schools in the month of Oct., generally accepted as the breast cancer month, visited The Federal Government Girls College (FGGC) Calabar on Oct. 18.

Others were Saint Ane’s High School on Oct. 30 and Holy Child Secondary School on Nov. 7 to educate young girls on the dangers of breast cancer and how early detection could save lives.

In an interview with NAN on Thursday in Calabar, Mr Yegwa Ukpo, Executive Director of Asi Ukpo Cancer Center, said they embarked on the education of students because they were gradually seeing younger people coming forward with breast cancer diagnoses.

According to him, “If this kind of knowledge is instilled in the child it will be easier for the new generation of women to be able to get treatment when and as they should.

“We also have the problem of stigma occasioned by culture, so, our campaigns are also to reinforce actions against the culture of denial of diagnosis while urging those engaging in faith and herbal cure to also visit an oncologist to increase their chances of healing,” he said

Speaking further, Ukpo said cancer treatment was a multi-faceted and multi-disciplinary approach, adding that even an oncologist does not handle cancer treatment alone without radiologists, medical physicists, radiotherapists, and oncology nurses, among others.

He called on Nigerians, especially women and girls, to be committed to carrying out proper personal breast examinations, which enhances early detection.

On his part, Dr Maurice Nandul, a Clinical Oncologist with Asi Ukpo Cancer Centre, said that targeting students was the way to go because they were young, still learning, and capable of absorbing information and passing it across to others.

Nandul said the challenge with cancer management in Nigeria was late presentation by a bulk of the patients, hence the need for regular screening which would go a long way in the fight against cancer.

In their responses, the principals of the schools visited, thanked the centre for the enlightenment, adding that they would continue to reemphasise the information with students, especially that of personal breast examination.