2m Nigerians living with cancer – Tejuosho

Chairman, Senate Committee on Health, Senator Olanrewaju A. Tejuoso, yesterday said two million Nigerians had been registered as living with cancer.
At a public hearing on the National Centre for Cancer Research and Treatment Bill, he said between 100,000 and 500,000 new cases were being registered annually.
He said cancer was the third commonest cause of death in the country and had a huge impact on the national economy.
“It is confirmed that cancer destroys the wellbeing of a large percentage of our citizens and it is a public health problem that affects all categories of persons,” he said.
To address the challenge, he said the senate was proposing the establishment of the National Centre for Cancer Research and Treatment. “The bill when passed will among other purposes, provide a holistic national strategy for dealing with cancer as a serious national health agenda and education of the general public,”    he said. In his remarks, the president, Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Dr Kayode Obembe, said the establishment of the centre would address some of the challenges cancer patients face in the country.  He said the centre should be affiliated with other international cancer agencies to tap from global technology on cancer treatment.  Also speaking, the chairman, National Consultative Committee on Cancer Control in Nigeria, Professor Durosinmi Etti, said the centre when established should be manned by people who are specialists in cancer treatment.