Wife of the Kebbi state Governor Dr. Zainab Shinkafi Bagudu, has raised alarm over rising cases of deaths from cancer disease, calling for concerted efforts by all towards its control in the country.
Dr. Bagudu made the call in Abuja when she led a delegation of MedicAid on a courtesy visit to the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development to seek partnership in the fight agaisnt the killer disease, lamenting that over 250,000 Nigerians die from the disease yearly.
She noted the rising cases of breast cancer in particular, saying a lot of women have died from the ailment due to the lack of adequate awareness and information on preventive measures.
“Every year over 250,000 people die of cancer. October is international breast cancer awareness month and we do a lot of awareness not only on breast cancer but other cancers too.
“I do not believe we have enough information on cancer awareness, diagnosis, treatment, and the control is poor so we take every available opportunities to create awareness on all the cancers to reduce its spread in the country,” she said.
The Governor’s wife urged all Nigerians to talk about the disease and how to raise funds for its treatment such as screening of patients in order to detect it early and prevent more citizens from dying.
Responding, the Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development Dame Paulin Tallen, described breast cancer as a deadly disease which have ravaged the lives of many Nigerian women.
Tallen called on every Nigerians eapecially the state governments to champion this cause by supporting the treatment of patients and save more citizens from death, saying government alone cannot handle it.
“Cancer is a deadly scourge that has claimed many lives. All Nigerians must join the campaign to fight the scourge. Most cases those affected cannot cope with treatment treatment.
” We call on all the state governments and their wives, voluntary and philantropic organisations to key into this campaign and intensify the advocacy to enable more awareness so as to avert more deaths, she stressed.
