World Cancer Day: Nigerians call for rapid release of treatment fund

As Nigeria joins the rest of the world in commemorating World Cancer Day (WCD) 2023, a group of cancer advocates have called for the rapid release and full implementation of the cancer treatment fund .

Advocates made the call on Saturday during a march to mark this year's Cancer Day. The march was organized by Project Pink Blue in partnership with other advocates.

Speaking immediately after the 5km walk, Gloria Orji, Chairperson of the Network of People Affected by Cancer in Nigeria (NEPICIN), said that Nigeria has a very high burden of cancer and many people are dying lack of treatment.

Ms. Orji said cancer is a costly disease that many Nigerians cannot afford to treat. Therefore, the cancer treatment fund will save many lives.

According to information she has received, only about 400 patients have benefited from the fund so far.

“The last time I received information about the fund, I was told that approximately 400 patients had benefited from it, which is still only a drop in the ocean. about 1 billion naira to access.

"We are advocating for this fund to be released to support cancer patients and help them survive this deadly disease," she said.

In 2019, the Nigerian government announced plans to roll out a cancer treatment fund as part of efforts to reduce the burden of cancer treatment in the country.

Although implementation has begun, the cancer patient community has said they do not yet have full access to the fund.

Cancer is a disease that occurs when changes occur in a group of normal cells in the body, causing abnormal, uncontrolled growth and the formation of a mass called a tumour.

Depending on where the tumor is found, cancers are generally classified into five major groups, including carcinoma, which affects the cell wall that helps protect organs such as the breast, lungs, colon, or prostate ; Lymphoma and Myeloma, which affect the immune system, and Sarcoma, which affects the bones or soft tissues.

There is also leukemia, which affects the blood, and tumors that affect the central nervous system, which can be cancers of the brain or spinal cord.

The most common cancers in the world are breast, lung, colon and prostate cancer, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Globally, an estimated 10 million people die of cancer each year worldwide, and 70% of these deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries, including Nigeria.

Nigeria, compared to most developing countries, still lags behind in cancer diagnosis, treatment and survival.

This is due to many factors such as late detection, misdiagnosis, lack of medical expertise to treat patients, lack of chemotherapy facilities or radiotherapy machines and the high cost of cancer management.

Although there are no established causes of cancer, some predisposing factors such as smoking, alcohol, air pollution, exposure to excessive radiation, viruses, factors genetic/hereditary, among others, have been identified.

Pink Blue Project program coordinator Gloria Okwu said that Nigeria contributes significantly to the global cancer burden.

Ms Okwu said the number of people dying of cancer in Nigeria keeps increasing every year...