Bagudu Faults Late Detection of Cancer Cases in Nigeria

Founder of Medicaid Cancer Foundation (MCF), Dr. Zainab Bagudu, has decried the late detection of cancer cases in Nigeria.

Bagudu, while attributing early detection of cases to be a vital step in preventing the disease, noted that most cancers were detected at late stages.

She added that in developing cases, many often access treatment only when there is five per cent cure rate, while in developed countries, it is detected early at stage one and two which has 95 per cent cure rate.

She made this known in Abuja, during the five kilometres awareness campaign tagged, “Walk away cancer” aimed at sensitising people on the different preventive measures and detection of the disease. Bagudu who is also the wife of the Kebbi State governor, disclosed that women always bear the brunt of any health situation because they are not financially able to treat themselves especially when it comes to breast and cervical cancer. She said: “Because of the financial challenges affecting the women folk, we are setting an example for them to survive regularly, and also raising funds for indigent cancer patients for diagnosis and screening, mostly in the rural areas.

“This advocacy and awareness walk on early detection and prevention of cancer, is to bring into the knowledge of the general public the need for early detection of cancer cases.

“This is why we also want to make a case for cancer in the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) as well as the inclusion of cancer treatment in the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) due to its expensive nature of treatment.”

She hinted that the wife of the president and all African first ladies were joining forces to the cause to ensure that from the international body, policies on cancer are well articulated.

She revealed that Nigeria stands to benefit from her nomination into the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC). Speaking in a similar vein, First Ladies of Kogi and Osun states, Rashida Yahaya Bello and Sherifat Aregbesola, respectively, also expressed their readiness to replicate the campaign especially at the grassroots in their various states

Earlier in his remarks, Kebbi State Governor, Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, said cancer degenerates when it is not detected early and that, the initiative became a huge success with the support of the federal government, the entertainment industry, civil societies, Nigerian Cancer Society and sporting organisations.