‘Cancer no longer a death sentence’

A Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), Onyebuchi Chris Ifediora Foundation (OCIF), has declared that cancer is no longer a death sentence as widely perceived.

The founder and President of the foundation, Associate Professor Chris Ifediora, stated this during the flag off ceremony of the Arm Our Youths (ArOY) anti-cancer health campaign in collaboration with the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) in Abuja.

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Dr Ifediora said the best way to go about cancer was to seek help on time and get regular treatment, noting that developed countries like Australia were already targeting the elimination of cancer by 2028, adding that the same was possible in Nigeria if people were properly empowered and had positive views about screening and vaccines.

He explained that the anti-cancer campaign was geared towards sensitising youths about cancer and how to prevent it, noting that the disease had its roots in teenagers.

While launching the CerviBreast app, Ifediora said it was a free and interactive mobile phone application that would assist in keeping track of breast and cervical cancer screenings and would also help Nigerians locate service providers.

A breast cancer survivor, Gloria Orji, said when she was diagnosed, her doctor advised her not be scared; that she would not die if she adhered to her treatment.

She added that she walked through the treatment journey for 12 years and survived the disease.

She frowned at the fact that some employers sacked their staff because they were diagnosed with cancer, while some clergymen blamed one for having the disease on their sins.

The First Lady, Hajiya Aisha Buhari, who was represented by the wife of the Vice President, Mrs Dolapo Osinbajo, said it was important to ensure that everything possible was done to reduce the rate of mortality associated with cancer, especially cervical.