To equip cancer patient with the right information in making better decisions concerning their health, the month of October has been set aside globally for the health promotion of this deadly disease.
This year’s International Cancer Awareness Month is with special emphasis on breast cancer, the most common cancer in women globally.
Incidentally, the most important advocacy and communications day in the health calendar also occurs in October (the second Thursday of October every year, designated as World Sight Day). This year’s, World Sight Day fell on October 10, with the call to action being: ‘Vision First!’
This is therefore an important opportunity to draw attention to all the challenges posed by these health issues to ensure that we all rally round to bring about sustainable solution to the problems.
According to the International Agency for Research on Cancer, one out of every three persons in the world will be diagnosed of cancer in their lifetime. Over 18 million people develop cancer yearly with 9.6 million deaths from cancer every year. Cancer now contributes to one in six deaths globally.
Unfortunately, 70 per cent of cancer deaths occur in developing countries like Nigeria due to late detection. Latest WHO data shows that every day in Nigeria 32 women die of breast cancer, 28 women die of cervical cancer, 16 men die daily from prostate cancer and 14 persons die of liver cancer.
To this end, Mass Medical Mission initiated the National Cancer Prevention Programme (NCPP), which has been spearheading community-based mass cancer screening across the country since 2007. Over 200,000 people have been screened/vaccinated and treated since then.
