Breast cancer kills 30 in Bayelsa

The Federal Medical Centre, Yenagoa, Bayelsa state said 30 out of 140 women diagnosed of breast cancer died of the disease in three years.

The centres’s registrar, cancer unit, Mrs Ememaize Oshogbunu said the death occurred between January 2018 and October 2020.

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Mrs Oshogbunu disclosed this during a breast cancer awareness trek and free test for women in Yenagoa, organized by the Ethanrose foundation in collaboration with the wife of the governor, Barrister Patience Diri.

She said breast cancer was the highest of cancer diseases recorded in the state annually.

She explained that early detection and diagnosis of breast cancer generally increases the chances for successful treatment.

The Executive Secretary of Ethanrose Foundation, Annette David-West, stressed the need for cancer awareness campaign to help prevent the dreaded disease and loss of lives.

She said: “Majority of deaths occur in countries where most women with breast cancer are diagnosed in late stages mostly because of lack of awareness on early detection and barriers to health services.

“The situation can be reverted if adequate public health programmes like this are put in place.”