7,000 cancer-related deaths registered in 2023 – Kebbi’s government wife

Just 33 days into 2023, Nigeria has recorded more than 10,000 new cancer cases and 7,000 deaths, said Kebbi State First Lady Dr Zainab Shinkafi-Bagudu.

Shinkafi-Bagudu, saying this while citing data from the International Agency for Research on Cancer, noted that there was a need to bridge the cancer care gap in the country with greater awareness and technological advancements.

Speaking at a book launch titled Footprints and partner reception by the First Ladies Against Cancer Initiative Nigeria on Thursday in Abuja, Shinkafi-Bagudu urged that harmful lifestyle practices that can lead to cancer should be avoided.

The PUNCH reports that World Cancer Day is an international day celebrated annually on February 4 to raise awareness of cancer and encourage its prevention, detection and treatment.

The FLAC is a coalition of spouses of current and former state governors working to address gaps in the cancer care continuum; raise awareness, facilitate access to screening and treatment services and advocate for the implementation of policies on fair access to quality cancer care services in Nigeria.

“The book is a compilation of our activities and I hope what you see there will encourage you to get in touch. We welcome formidable and lasting partnerships from all sectors. The book is a compilation of all our activities and advocacy. It is a celebration of our concept of bridging the cancer care gap in Nigeria and highlighting as much as possible the challenges we face on a daily basis.

“The year 2023 has just begun, barely 33 days, and Nigeria has already recorded more than 10,000 new cancer cases. We’ve already lost 7,000 to this complex disease, according to the International Agency for Research on Cancer’s Globocan statistics.

“For my sisters and myself, it’s our everyday experiences, things we go through in the form of text messages and letters asking for support, often accompanied by graphic videos and images. Our job is to work with government agencies, such as primary health care, to ensure we provide better services to our people.

“So we call on the entire private sector to work with the government to renew the primary health system.

“It is not right that where you live or where you are should continue to determine whether you survive cancer, despite the technological advances we have seen over the past decade. We must continue to address global inequalities by raising cancer awareness, building lasting partnerships and creating innovative ways that can help us lower the cost of treatment.

She said harmful lifestyle practices that can lead to cancer, such as tobacco use, physical inactivity, obesity, poor diet and alcohol abuse, e-cigarettes and shisha, should be avoided.

The vice president’s wife, Dolapo Osinbajo, also said that everyone should stand up in the fight against cancer.

She said: “Cancer is deadly, it kills people, men and women, young and old, in every country in the world. Cancer can be found in different parts of the body, acts differently in each place and acts differently in its manifestations in people .

“In some people it’s slow growth; in others it is fast. Cancer makes some people sick, cancer kills some people. Cancer killed my mother.

“There is a fight against cancer because cancer has set up a fight against humanity. Let’s use this course to fight back.”