The Head, Ocean Road Cancer Institute, ORCI, Dr. Eunice Opemba, has asserted at the East African Cancer Alliance Meeting in Kampala, Uganda, that Africans have not been paying proper attention to the causes of cancer. Dr. Opemba identified this as the main reason for the rising level of cancer deaths in the continent.
At a Cancer Alliance forum in Kampala, Uganda on Tuesday, the cancer expert urged African countries to urgently give cancer the attention it deserves, pointing out that such attention would boost awareness and information on cancer, thereby reducing cases of the scourge.
Dr. Opemba reeled out pertinent data on the issue. “According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), cancer is the second leading cause of death in the world globally. In Nigeria, the statistics is very bad. 72,000 people die from cancer in that country every year. Also, many people present their cancer at a very late stage, some of these things can be preventable if they get the proper attention and information from the beginning,” she said.
She explained that the Cancer Alliance meeting was borne out of the need to create a better ecosystem for cancer care. “We felt that it is necessary to bring together the different players working on cancer to create an effective strategy on handling cancer care, basically from creating awareness, nutrition, and the auto palliative care of cancer”.
In the same vein, another expert, Dr. Fraser Kaura of Amref Social Enterprise, noted that the biggest problem of cancer across sub-Saharan Africa is the lack of early diagnosis, screening and treatment. Dr. Kaura stressed that it is critical for communities to give early education on preventive measures.
