TheNewsGuru

Tag: Cancer

  • Breast cancer, be proactive, be brutal – By Francis Ewherido

    Breast cancer, be proactive, be brutal – By Francis Ewherido

    I am neither a woman nor a medical doctor. But I needed to make today’s topic real, so invited my cousin, my real “paddy” and Chief Medical Director of NTA Clinic, Victoria Island, Dr. (Mrs.) Martina Agberien, to co-author today’s article with me. Breast cancer is the nemesis of women, just as prostate cancer is the nemesis of men. The only difference is that men are more prone to prostate cancer than women are prone to breast cancer. Like other cancers, they can be prevented or managed, especially if detected early. Both have damage control mechanisms. I used to be very angry when I heard that a woman had breast cancer or died of breast cancer. For some women it is just negligence or ignorance. But there is deadlier cause: wrong diagnosis and negligence by health care personnel in early identification of the likelihood of cancer. Like prostate cancer, prevention of breast cancer is better than cure.

    Many factors over the course of a lifetime can cause or influence a woman’s breast cancer risks. The risk of women developing breast cancer is influenced by a range of factors and it is difficult to find a formal definition of high risk women. Women who carry mutation in BRCA1 and BRCA2, (The BRCA1 and BRCA2 proteins are key DNA-repair proteins). Their functional loss leaves some cells highly vulnerable to DNA damage, including damage that triggers cancer. Women with inactivating mutations in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes have very high lifetime risks of breast cancer, as well as high risks of ovarian cancer). We also have family histories of genetically transmitted breast cancer, women who have received mantle irradiation, (Mantle Radiation was a radiation technique used to treat Hodgkin Lymphoma from the 1970s to the 1990s. It is rarely used today, as chemotherapy is the preferred treatment) and women with lobular carcinoma in situ (Lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS) is an uncommon condition in which abnormal cells form in the milk glands (lobules) in the breast. Lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS) is not cancer, but being diagnosed with LCIS indicates that you have an increased risk of developing breast cancer). You cannot change some of these factors, such as getting older or your family history, but you can help lower your risk of breast cancer by taking care of your health. The first thing to do apart from reducing the risk factors is to do breast cancer screening.

    What is breast cancer screening? Breast cancer screening means checking a woman’s breasts for cancer before there are signs or symptoms of the disease. All women need to be informed by their health care provider about the best screening options for them. There are three types of prevention. They are primary prevention. Primary prevention include avoiding becoming overweight and obesity, eating healthy, exercising, moderate consumption of alcohol if you find abstinence impossible, avoiding hormone replacement therapy. Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is supplementing women with hormones that are lost during the menopausal transition. You should consider taking an estrogen-blocking drug as it stops the production of estrogen in those who are post-menopausal and are mainly used to treat hormone receptor-positive breast cancer. In simple words, they are also used again, with a prescription to help fight breast cancer. Avoiding smoking is also important in cancer prevention. Although African women of old smoked tobacco in pipes, it is not fashionable to see women smoking in Nigeria. Parties and clubs na different matter, sha! Breastfeeding is also a cancer prevention measure. For ladies who do not want to breastfeed your babies, it is actually advisable. What is even the big deal about your breasts sagging? Is there a bone structure in the breasts to keep them erect forever?

    Breastfeeding is also a cancer prevention measure. For ladies who do not want to breastfeed your babies to stem your breasts from sagging, breastfeeding is actually advisable. What is even the big deal about your breasts sagging? Is there a bone structure in the breasts to keep them erect forever? Breast-feeding is not the only reason women’s breasts sag. My wife did baby friendly for our five children for six months and continued breastfeeding thereafter. The breasts are not what they were when we got married, but they are still firm enough to hold me spellbound. Meanwhile a friend confided in me that he stopped womanising because the breasts of all the girls he befriended were “flatter” than his wife’s, a mother of four children, and she was also “fresher.” Many other factors cause breasts to sag, not breastfeeding only, so breastfeed your babies as long as possible. Mother’s breast milk is the healthiest food for the first six months of children’s lives. By the way, apart from your husband, who else is supposed to know that your breasts have sagged? In those days when breasts were properly packaged and hidden away, no one, apart from your husband, knew the state of your breasts. It is only in this modern age that some women openly flaunt their “slippers” that the state of women’s breasts is now public knowledge.

    Secondary prevention of breast cancer is the identification and treatment of premalignant or subclinical cancers. This includes regular self-examination of your breasts. The best time to do a monthly breast self-exam is about three to five days after your period starts. Do it at the same time every month. Your breasts are not as tender or lumpy at this time in your monthly cycle. If you have gone through menopause, do your exam on the same day every month.

    Screening by means of mammography is another typical example of secondary prevention. A mammogram is an X-ray picture of the breast. Doctors use a mammogram to look for early signs of breast cancer. Regular mammograms are the best tests doctors have to find breast cancer early. Women who are at average risk for breast cancer should start mammogram screening at age 40 ( women with family history can start earlier) and get one every two years until age 74 years. That’s the latest updated recommendation from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF),

    Finally, we have Tertiary Prevention. This is managing disease post diagnosis. Tertiary prevention is defined as symptoms control and rehabilitation. This prevention stage is the most important and critical stage. This is the treatment professional stage when a patient is going through the treatment of breast cancer or any other disease. This stage is used to help the patients and their caregivers to deal with the disease. Managing the disease and treatment of it is one of the crucial stages. This management includes behaviors, habits, depression management, etc. Supporting campaigns and people who help others to get back in their routine life after passing through serious diseases like cancer. Vocational training is usually given to the patients after diagnosis to support them and enable them work with people that have jobs so they can fend for themselves as they use to before the toll of the disease gets them down

    Let us conclude with mastectomy. A mastectomy is surgery to remove one or both breasts. Sometimes other tissues near the breast, such as lymph nodes, are also removed. This surgery is most often used to treat breast cancer. In some cases, a mastectomy is done to help prevent breast cancer in women who have a high risk for it. A good example is Angelina Jolie, the famous Hollywood Actress. When it comes to mastectomy, some women dilly-dally while others are very “brutal” (take prompt action). A couple of women were diagnosed with malignant lumps in their breasts. The lumps were removed, but other malignant lumps were diagnosed thereafter. A mastectomy could have put a stop to the vicious cycle, but they could not imagine life without breasts. Cancer came back with fury and they both died.

    For me as a man, breasts are like the icing on the cake. Icing only makes the cake more beautiful. The real deal is still the cake which is the vagina. Once the “cake” is there, I don’t bloody care about the absence of “icing.” How many men even want to suck a cancerous breast even though cancer is not contagious? If you die, your husband will remarry after a while. Women, get sense! Chop the damn cancerous breasts off and live. The women who did are still alive. One of the women, as Spyro sang, is still rice and beans, with the husband, but beans and dodo, for me. The meaning is that they remain inseparable, absence of breasts notwithstanding. Be brutal like Angelina Jolie.

  • How to survive breast cancer

    How to survive breast cancer

    A Nurse Clinician, Mrs Omolara Olaosebikan, says early detection of breast cancer is key to breast cancer cure and improving the survival rate of patients.

    Olaosebikan stated this during a lecture on breast cancer organised by the women committee of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Oyo State chapter, to mark the second anniversary of the union, on Tuesday in Ibadan.

    The nurse clinician, who worked with Adeoyo Maternity Teaching Hospital, Ibadan, said that women must conduct self-examination of their breast once in a month, particularly after menstruation, to be able to detect any abnormality.

    “As women, we are supposed to be doing self breast examination once in a month after menstruation to be able to detect any lump, swelling, discharge from the nipples or change in colour of their breasts.

    “These are the things we should look for on monthly basis and see healthcare provider if there is any abnormal change,” she said.

    Olaosebikan called on women above 40 years to do mammogram (x-ray of the breast) to detect any abnormal change in their breasts.

    She identified four stages of breast cancer, adding that it was better to get it treated at early stage before getting to the last stage.

    Olaosebikan said that breast cancer cure might be difficult if it should be allowed to get to the last stage.

    “Early detection will reduce treatment cost, improve quality of life and survival rate,” she said.

    Earlier, the Oyo State NLC Chairperson (Women Committee), Mrs Kikelomo Ayedun, said that the health talk was organised to sensitise members on how to live a healthy life.

    Ayedun said that what members had gained at the programme would go a long way in improving their health conditions.

    In his own remarks, the state NLC Chairman , Kayode Martins, appreciated the women for organising the lecture, adding: “health was wealth.”

    According to Martins, breast cancer is one of the fastest killing diseases in Nigeria and the world generally, adding that it should not be taken for granted.

    Highlight of the event, attended by all women affiliates of NLC, both from the public and private sectors, was blood pressure check and sugar level test.

  • Breast cancer not demonic, seek medical help, pray – NMA

    Breast cancer not demonic, seek medical help, pray – NMA

    The Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) says breast cancer, like every other cancer, is not demonic but a medical issue that should be treated physically.

    The Chairman of the Cross River chapter of the association, Dr Felix Archibong, made this known in an interview with NAN in Calabar during the Go Pink Day celebration.

    The Calabar Go Pink Day celebration was to sensitise the people about the dangers of breast cancer and the need for early detection for patient’s survival.

    The theme of the celebration for 2023 is: “Reset Breast Cancer, From Screening to Survivorship.”

    Archibong, who also urged patients to pray, advised that they should equally visit hospital and get the correct diagnosis, adding that it was unfortunate that most cancer cases were presented late.

    “This is an open campaign even to religious bodies, breast cancer is not demonic but a medical issue, so, don’t stop going to church or praying but seek care in a medical facility.

    “A lot of people believe the breast is a private part and should not be exposed, this is why we are sensitising people on ways to carry out self breast examination once a month, one week after menstrual flow.

    “Also, medical breast examination should be done at least once a year, let it be like your birthday gift to yourself annually, so, you don’t forget because noticing cancer early makes it easier to treat.”

    On his part, Mr Yegwa Ukpo, the Executive Director of Asi Ukpo Comprehensive Cancer Centre, Calabar, said the centre were partnering with other organisations to sensitise people on the need to be screened.

    Ukpo, who said that ignorance is dangerous, added that the centre has girls as young as 16 and 17 years diagnosed with breast cancer on its treatment list.

    According to him, another burden in Nigeria is the lack of enough cancer centres, while the few available ones are overwhelmed.

    He said “we also have the challenge of cost of treatment, this is why we have the Asi Ukpo Cancer Assist Foundation geared toward assisting indigent patients.”

    Mrs Gedah Etafia, the Secretary of the Pink Africa Foundation, said October is the Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

    She added that the foundation partnered with other organisations to embark on breast cancer screening, in addition to teaching women how to carry out breast examination themselves.

    She said that although awareness is still low, the foundation is working toward ensuring early detection and how to access care.

  • I was diagnosed with stage three cancer – Olumide Akpata reveals

    I was diagnosed with stage three cancer – Olumide Akpata reveals

    The Former President of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Olumide Akpata, on Sunday, revealed he was diagnosed with stage three cancer over 10 years ago and had multiple surgeries.

    Akpata made the revelation in Benin during his 51st birthday celebration, shocked his well-wishers, party faithful, and supporters.

    He noted that he was diagnosed with stage three cancer over 10 years ago and had multiple surgeries, adding that he was declared cancer-free in the past five years.

    He stated that the celebration was not only to mark his birthday but also to thank God for his life over the years

    He said “You may have noticed me dancing around the hall. I am dancing with thanksgiving because I turned 51 years old today. It is a miracle that I am still standing,” he said.

    Akpata, who delved into his early life, noted that he lost his mother at the age of 19 when he was writing his final examinations as a law student at the University of Benin.

    He explained that his mother died before the age of 49, noting that if not God’s blessings and mercies upon his life, his stories would have been different.

    “The loss of a mother at that critical stage in one’s life can just turn things around but God was there and He has been there in all these 31 years till date.

    “I become a lawyer, I started my legal career, I set up a law firm in conjunction with my elder brother and ultimately I became the President of the NBA.

    “So you understand why I am excited, why I am happy, why I am grateful to God and that is why I have gathered friends and family members here to celebrate with me,” he added.

    Apkata, who joined the Labour Party in Edo to win the governorship ticket said the party had received him warmly, adding that LP would win the governorship election come 2024.

    Dignitaries present at the occasion included the Edo Deputy governor, Comrade Philip Shaibu, Osarodion Ogie, the Secretary to State Government (SSG), and Chris Nehikhare, the state Commissioner for Information.

    Others are Oluwole Uzi, the commissioner for Justice and Attorney- General of Edo State, Ken Mozia (SAN), Chairman, Benin branch of the NBA, Nosa Edo-Osagie, and Yusuf Al-Samad Kadiri (SAN), among others.

  • Cancer cases in younger people rising globally – Researchers

    Cancer cases in younger people rising globally – Researchers

    Factors such as obesity and alcohol consumption are contributing to a worrying rise in global cancer cases among younger people, a study suggests.

    Researchers estimated there had been a 79 per cent hike in new cases of cancer in those aged under 50 between 1990 and 2019.

    However, rates in the UK were stabilised from 2010 to 2019 with the annual mortality rate from early-onset cancer “steadily decreasing.”

    A team from the University of Edinburgh and the Zhejiang University School of Medicine in China analysed data from the Global Burden of Disease 2019 Study for 29 cancers in 204 countries and regions.

    They looked at new cases, deaths, health consequences, and risk factors in people aged 14 to 49, estimating an annual percentage for each year.

    In 2019, there were 3.26 million new cancer diagnoses for under-50s, an increase of 79.1 per cent since 1990.

    Deaths were also up by 27.7 per cent.

    Researchers said that while genetics are likely to play a part, smoking, alcohol consumption, and diets high in meat and salt but low in fruit and milk are the “main risk factors”, along with factors such as excess weight, low physical activity, and high blood sugar.

    Breast cancer made up the largest proportion of cases – 13.7 per every 100,000 people – while windpipe and prostate cancer cases are growing the fastest at 2.28 per cent and 2.23 per cent per year, respectively.

    However, early-onset liver cancer cases were down by 2.88 per cent each year.

    The regions with the highest rates of early-onset cancers were North America, Australasia, and Western Europe.

    Study author Dr Xue Li, of the Centre for Global Health at the University of Edinburgh’s Usher Institute, said while early-onset cancer in the UK showed an “upward trend” from 1990 to 2010, “the overall incidence rate remained stable” from 2010 to 2019.

    She added, “fortunately, the annual mortality rate from early-onset cancer in the UK has been steadily decreasing, a testament to the outstanding cancer screening and treatment efforts over the past three decades.”

    Publication of the study – in the journal BMJ Oncology – comes after the charity Cancer Research UK claimed that advances in cancer care have helped save 1.2 million lives in the UK since the mid-1980s.

    The figure includes an estimated 560,000 fewer lung cancer deaths, 236,000 deaths from stomach cancer, 224,000 bowel cancer deaths, and 17,000 breast cancer deaths.

    The charity said the improvement is down to progress in cancer prevention, as well as diagnosis and treatment, including improvements in radiotherapy, the use of cancer screening programmes, drug development, and gene discoveries.

    Dr Claire Knight, senior health information manager at Cancer Research UK, said, “it’s not fully clear what is driving the rise in early-onset cancers, but exposure to risk factors in earlier life, better detection of cancer, and genetics might all play a part.”

    Dr Knight said cancer remains “primarily a disease of older age,” however “alarming” the findings of the study might seem.

    “We need more research to examine the causes of early-onset cancer for specific cancer types, like our BCAN-RAY study that is looking at new ways to identify younger women at higher risk of breast cancer,” she added.

    “If people are concerned about their cancer risk, there are lots of ways to help reduce this, such as not smoking, maintaining a balanced diet, getting plenty of exercise and staying safe in the sun.”

    Montserrat Garcia-Closas, a professor of epidemiology at the Institute of Cancer Research, said the study “seeks to address important questions on global surge in early-onset cancers” but there are “limitations with the methodology make it unclear what these findings add to current literature.”

  • Prof. Pat Utomi recounts ugly experience with cancer

    Prof. Pat Utomi recounts ugly experience with cancer

    Professor of Economics, Pat Utomi has revealed how he struggled with prostrate cancer shortly after 2023 general elections in the country.

    Taking to Twitter on Friday,  the professor of political economy and managemenUtomi revealed that a biopsy he conducted in the year 2022 showed that he was positive.

    “When a biopsy showed I was positive last year, I began treatment with a cancer centre with a branch in Ikeja and VI,” Utomi tweeted.

    Utomi revealed that sometimes doctors would try to smuggle him out from the back of the centres to attend election campaigns.

    He posted: “When a biopsy showed I was positive in 2022, I began treatment with a branch of a cancer centre in Ikeja and VI.

    “I sometimes came from election campaigns to the centre near the Airport. The doctors would try to smuggle me out from the back.”

    He explained that his young nephews and cousins, who were medical doctors in Europe and the US, joined forces with the Lakeshore people and decided they wanted him in their direct care after the election.

    “That is why it seemed I went quiet because they controlled my phones to reduce stress,” he stated.

  • I was diagnosed with aggressive breast cancer – Diezani

    I was diagnosed with aggressive breast cancer – Diezani

    Former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, has told an Abuja High Court that she has been diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer in 2015.

    She stated this as her reason for leaving the country “in order to undertake a critical course of treatment, which consisted of two operations.”

    This was revealed in a writ of summons against the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the attorney-general of the federation (AGF).

    Alison-Madueke is asking for damages of N100 billion “for the false, injurious, malicious and libelous publications.”

    She said the EFCC and AGF defamed her by claiming she is corrupt.

    According to Alison-Madueke, toward the end of the tenure of the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan in 2015, she was diagnosed with “the most aggressive form of breast cancer” which she identified as “Triple Negative Cancer.”

    She left for England on May 22, 2015 “in order to undertake a critical course of treatment, which consisted of two operations, eight months of intensive chemotherapy and five weeks of radiotherapy”.

    Since then, she said in the court papers, she has remained in England “undergoing medical care and treatment.”

  • Polaris Bank commences Phase IV of its breast cancer screening exercise

    Polaris Bank commences Phase IV of its breast cancer screening exercise

    …restates commitment to stemming the scourge

    Polaris Bank has announced that it has commenced breast cancer screening for its staff and customers meant to reduce the incidence of breast cancer in Nigeria.

    The Bank’s Group Head, Strategic Brand Management, Nduneche Ezurike, made this known in Lagos while reiterating the Bank’s unwavering commitment and partnership to stem the breast cancer scourge among women.

    Polaris Bank notes that increased awareness, screening, advocacy, and support will go a long way to reducing the incidence of breast cancer in the country.

    The screening exercise, which is in its 4th phase, commenced in April and will hold once every month. It is open to the Bank’s interested female staff and customers. The screening exercise is in Partnership with COPE and holds at the NGO’s, Adeniyi Jones, Ikeja, Lagos Office.

    Mr. Ezurike noted that healthcare is one of the pillars of Polaris Bank’s Corporate Social responsibility (CSR), stressing that its partnership with relevant public-spirited Non-Governmental Organisations, NGOs, like Care Organisation Public Enlightenment (COPE), Societal Healthcare Organisation (SHO), and Marcel Ruth Cancer Centre, has enabled it to contribute significantly to the reduction of breast cancer in the country.

    The Polaris spokesman further noted, “In partnership with the aforementioned NGOs, we have covered five key milestones, namely, awareness, advocacy, capacity-building, prevention, and treatment in an ongoing effort to reverse the negative impact and trend of the scourge and other related health complications.”

    “We have screened over 22,000 women, including female staff members of the Bank through our prevention program, donated three ultra-modern breast cancer screening machines to enhance quality diagnosis and clinical practices, sponsored the treatment of over 30 indigent cancer patients, and organized/Partnered on a 10-km/6-km walk with over 3,100 participants to draw public attention to the breast cancer scourge,” he said.

    The President of COPE, Mrs Ebunola Anozie, commended Polaris Bank for the support, care, and encouragement they have so far received from the Bank, stressing that the Bank has been a strong partner behind their initiatives for nearly 20 years now.

    “For some time, we had difficulty getting the required support for the women. Some of our women used handkerchiefs; some used tissues to fill up their bras. But we are grateful for the timely support of Polaris Bank. They were able to donate prostheses that ensured our breast cancer survivors lived better lives”, Anozie added.

    Polaris Bank also has several other initiatives to improve the well-being of the womenfolk in general in the country. In 2021 it organized a 3-day intensive capacity-building workshop in Northern Nigeria on life-saving skills for 50 community midwives and health extension workers, randomly selected from 80 per cent public and 20 per cent private hospitals in Kano State in partnership with SHO.

    Additionally, in seeking ways to address social issues affecting women, and the most vulnerable groups in Northern Nigeria, Polaris Bank also worked in concert with a northern-based NGO and women-focused group, Sisters-Keepers Initiative, to organize a conference in Kano to exchange ideas on the scourge of child neglect, physical abuse, domestic violence, illiteracy, street begging, and child labour.

    The Bank was adjudged Digital Bank of the Year in 2021 and 2022 by BusinessDay Newspaper’s Banking and Finance Industry Awards (BAFI) alongside other Institutions that recognized VULTe as Nigeria’s best digital Bank, like Nigeria FinTech Awards, amongst others.

  • “My queen is gone”- Chuddy K breaks down in tears as he loses wife to cancer

    “My queen is gone”- Chuddy K breaks down in tears as he loses wife to cancer

    Nigerian singer, Chukwudi Agali, aka Chuddy K, has lost his wife, Racheal, to cancer.

    The “Gaga Crazy” hitmaker made the announcement on his Instagram page on Saturday.

    He expressed disbelief concerning the loss, adding that the deceased “fought hard” for her life.

    Sharing a picture of his wife, Chuddy K noted that he never imagined such a day would come early.

    "My queen is gone"- Chuddy K breaks down in tears as he loses wife to cancer

    Chuddy K wrote: “My queen is gone. I can’t believe am typing this. Never imagined a day like this would come so early. You fought hard for your life. You did not die of cancer. God called you cus he loves you more than I do. RIP Rachael my love”.

    Celebrities’ reaction to the death of Racheal

    Actress Ruth Kadiri wrote, “Oh Lord. So sorry, Chuddy.”

    Singer Simi said, “Sorry for your loss”.

    Chuddy K married his wife, Racheal, in October 2015.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports that in 2018, Chuddy K welcomed a set of twins with his wife."My queen is gone"- Chuddy K breaks down in tears as he loses wife to cancer Recall that the singer had acknowledged that staying away from having a second baby mother was a key factor in his decision to get married.

    In a podcast, Chuddy K stated that he is doing everything in his power to prevent his children from going through what he did as a youngster, which had an impact on his education and quality of life.

    In his words” My wife right now got pregnant while we were dating and I didn’t want her to come as a baby mama. My first child came to the world through a baby mama, I and the mom got separated later and he’s caught up in the middle. Your papa dey London, your mama dey America, or Germany or Uganda, you come dey middle dey struggle for your life.

    “That was what happened to me so I don’t want my child to come to this world and suffer that same experience. So, I made up my mind to get married to this lady. It’s not like I was even ready when I did, but the experience I have had in life, I’ve done all kinds of menial jobs for my child to have quality education.”

  • VIDEO: Mercy Johnson clarifies cancer scare

    VIDEO: Mercy Johnson clarifies cancer scare

    Popular Nollywood actress, Mrs Mercy Johnson Okojie has denied the claims that she has cancer, reassuring some of her fans, who were worried about her health, that she doesn’t have cancer but had a cancer scare.

    Recall Mrs Okojie first opened up on having a cancer scare during a chat with Joke Silva on her TV show, Menu’s Menu on Thursday. Following the chat with Silva, speculations quickly spread that Okojie has cancer.

    However, addressing the falsehood, the popular Nollywood actress posted a video on her Instagram page on Saturday night where she denied the claims.

    Okojie in the video said her chat with Joke Silva was misunderstood.

    “I do not have cancer. I noticed that the clip from my TV show, Mercy’s Menu has been flying around and they cut the clip. I said I had a cancer scare. It means that I had this swelling on my neck and my doctor felt it was something serious.

    “I had problems with my thyroid. I am perfectly okay. It was completely misunderstood. I am fine. I do not have cancer,” Okojie

    Watch video below: