Experts in the management and treatment of cancer have said that Nigeria is fast losing the battle against the scourge when compared with other countries in the world.
They also said that there was no indication that the battle would be won soonest.
Nigerians are still mourning the death of the former Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC, Prof. Dora Akunyili, who reportedly died of cancer a fortnight ago.
Amidst revelations that about 300,000 cases of cancer are diagnosed annually in the country, a Consultant Radiotherapist at the University College Hospital, Ibadan, Prof. Oladapo Campbell, said that only 10,000 cases could be managed and the survival rates were among the lowest in the world.
Campbell said that the country was being faced with challenges, making the management of cancer less successful compared to other countries.
According to him, 60 per cent of cancer patients in Nigeria report late, resulting in low cure rate and death.
Another specialist, Prof. Ifeoma Okoye, a professor of radiology at the College of Medicine, University of Nigeria, Nsukka noted that cancer could be cured at the early stage but that in Nigeria, patients were reporting too late for curative treatment.
She described an advanced stage cancer as that that had already spread to other vital organs of the body, including chest, cavity, liver, kidney and others.
According to her, at this stage, treatment is usually palliative aimed at reducing the pain, relieving symptoms and prolonging lives and not curative.
The country is also being faced with dearth of equipment and facilities to manage cases.
Investigation revealed that only few centres had facilities to detect cancer or monitor the progress of those going through treatment.
As at 2011, the country had only five radiotherapy machines to cater for the 300,000 patients being diagnosed every year, making access to quality care a major challenge.
“London, with a population of 12 million, has 20 radiotherapy machines and it could even be more by now,” Campbell said in a presentation at the 8th Annual Scientific Conference of the National Postgraduate Medical College held at the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital Complex, Ile-Ife.
The oncologist said that Nigeria seemed to be losing cancer patients more that other countries because of ignorance and low level of awareness about prevention.
A consultant radiologist and oncologist at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, LUTH, Dr. Muhammed Habeebe, said there was low awareness about infections, including the Human Papilloma Virus, causing cervical cancer and hepatitis B virus, which causes cancer of the liver.
“Certain procedures like self-breast examination and pap smear to screen for cervical lesion will go a long way in early detection and corresponding improved prognosis,” he said.
Habeebe added that a majority of Nigerians were yet to cultivate the habit of going for cancer check-up and screenings.
The oncologist also cited the acquisition of western diets and lifestyles, increased consumption of food with preservatives and additives, which might be carcinogenic as contributory factors to the rising case of cancer among Nigerians.
Other factors, according to him, include “environmental pollution with toxic fumes from exhaust of automobiles and generators, sedentary lifestyle of white collar workers, excessive alcohol and cigarette smoking, increase in consumption of meat and fatty diet, poor knowledge about the disease and prevalence of human immunodeficiency virus, HIV, among others.
“We are far from winning the war against cancer; we still have a long way to go,” he said.
Campbell also said that Nigeria must intensify efforts towards cancer prevention and effective control. According to him, the government must urgently establish a national cancer control programme, which will focus on prevention, detection and treatment of cancer.