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| Health Minister Isaac Adewole |
A Public Health Consultant, Dr. M.O. Kalu, on Friday, advised women in Nigeria to undergo diagnosis annually for early detection of cancerous lump.
Kalu gave the advice in Lagos during an awareness programme organised by the Breast Alert Nigeria, an NGO, for female students and staff of the Lagos State University (LASU).
Kalu said cancer diagnosis could be done through self-breast examination, clinical examination, breast ultra-scan, biopsies and mammogram.
He also urged women to carry out a self-breast examination between three and five days after their monthly menstrual period ‘’when the breast is vulnerable.’’
If this is done regularly, the lump, if any, could be detected while caressing.
“For those in their menopause and pregnant women, they should do it like their fellow women,” he said.
The consultant noted that all women were at risk of cancer, adding that it was the second leading cause of death among female worldwide.
He further said that breast cancer was the commonest form of cancer among Nigerian women, except for cervical cancer, which he said was more rampant in the northern part of the country.
According to him, the prevalence of cervical cancer in the north is due to early marriage and childbirth.
Kalu identified generic factor as one of the major causes of cancer, saying that about 15 per cent of patients, who suffered from cancer inherited it from their parents.
He also identified age as another factor for cancer, adding that as people advanced in age, they became more prone to the ailment.
“Obesity, lack of physical activities, exposure to radiation such as x-rays, hormonal displacement and pills are also the causal factors of cancer,” he said.
According to him, redness, swelling, pain, discharges from the breast and general discomfort are also part of the symptoms to look out for while examining breast for cancer.
Kalu said while there was no major cause for breast cancer, people suffered from the disease when some cells behaved abnormally.
He, however, noted that early detection was key to the treatment and survival of cancer.
Also speaking, Dr. Adewunmi Alabi of Department of Radiotherapy, Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), said prevention and screening could reduce the risk of breast cancer-related death by 70 per cent.
Alabi said that not all breast cancers lead to the removal of the breast, if detected early.
She also said not all swelling in the breast could also be cancerous, adding that swellings in the breast could either be benign or cancerous.
The Radiotherapist advised women from 20 years to do self-breast examination monthly and those from age 40 and above to undergo mammograms.
She also advised women to eat healthy diet as a preventive measure to cancer.
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