• Ways to survive malignant growths

Angela Success

The word, cancer, provokes fear in itself. The ailment, cancer, is seen as death sentence. Indeed, the fear of cancer has become the beginning of wisdom, as the disease is ravaging the populace across the world. This could explain why a cancer day, for February 4, has been set aside.
Cancer, otherwise known as malignant tumours, manifest when cells start growing abnormally attacking and destroying normal cells, functions and any adjoining organs. It can affect any part of the body and has many types that require different management strategies.
According the World Health Organisation (WHO), about 10,000 cancer deaths are recorded annually, while 250, 000 new cases are recorded yearly. Cancer is the second leading cause of death globally and accounted for 8.8 million deaths in 2015. Lung, prostate, colorectal, stomach and liver cancer are the most common types of caner in men, while breast, colorectal, lung, cervix and stomach cancer are the most common among women.
This year, the World Cancer Day has theme: “We can. I can.” It is aimed to save millions of preventable deaths each year by raising awareness and education about the disease, pressing governments and individuals across the world to take action.
“This event, which is marked on February 4, every year is programmed to unite the world’s population individually and collectively in the fight against cancer. Just as cancer affects everyone in different ways, all people have the power to take various actions to reduce the impact that cancer has on individuals, families and communities.
Dr. Oleg Chestnov of WHO gave assurance that cancer should not be “a death sentence anywhere in the world, as there are proved ways to prevent and cure many cancers.”
Some types of cancer, if detected early, can be cured. However, most cancer treatment centres in Nigeria lack modern diagnostic equipment. Also, there is lack of awareness on the disease, especially the causative factors, preventative measures, likely treatment options and facilities.
Daily Sun spoke to Professor Nwadiuto Akani, a Consultant Paediatric Oncologist with the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital on the steps that can be taken to fight cancer individually and corporately.
On what cancer is, she said that organs and tissues in the body have cells that multiply but nature have some cells also that limit this multiplication. In a cancerous situation, cells keep multiplying without limitation. This multiplication can lead to production of immature cells, which push out others crowding out normal cells leading to malignancy.

Causes of cancer
On what causes cancer, she said there are a lot of things that have been identified as making people to develop cancer. These are things, which stimulate the normal cells to behave abnormally. There are cancers that are passed down from one generation to another or just within the family. Those can be inherited from a family member when some of its members suffer from certain forms of cancer.
In children, there are situations where lack of important nutrients in the body predisposes the child to develop certain types of cancer. The presence of certain infections, like viral ones, immune deficiency disease, like HIV can cause individuals to develop malignancy. Environment that is full of toxins and irradiation can also lead to abnormality in cells.  Exposure to polluted environment can also provide the stimulus for the development of certain type’s cancers. An environment where there has been so much bombing and war may harbor radioactive materials that can also affect the body cells negatively.
In our own environment, where there is malaria, it is believed that the endemic nature of malaria can weaken the body’s immunity. When there is an additional viral infection on the same patient, it may predispose such a person to malignancy.  Certain cancers can also weaken the body and make it susceptible to other cancers.
Speaking on this year’s world ‘cancer day’s theme, Prof Akani said every woman should breastfeed their children as women who do not breastfeed are more likely to come down with cancer.
For cervical cancer, she said human papiloma virus and having multiple sex partners have been identified as cause. It therefore becomes expedient for younger women to get vaccinated against this virus and for older ones to stop having multiple sex partners.

How to survive cancer
According to Akani, if we know what causes cancer, we should make effort to avoid being exposed to such. “If we know that micro nutrient deficiency can lead to cancer in children, women within productive ages should start early by eating food filled with life-giving nutrients before and during pregnancy so that they don’t pass nutritional deficiency to their unborn children. If women who are pregnant are healthy enough, some types of cancer that are seen in newborn babies will reduce. Storing groundnuts in bottles for a long time also exposes one to the dangers of aflotoxins, which can cause trouble to the liver,” she said.
The doctor pointed out that leukemia in children can be caused by exposure to hydrocarbons. “The dose that will not affect adults will affect children as their body mass cannot handle high doses,” she said,  while advising women who are up to six months pregnant not to hang around fuel station or be exposed to hydrocarbons.
Prof Akani said: “Any woman that experiences waist pain or abnormal discharges through the vagina should seek medical help. Go for Pap smear test and other available cancer check up. Men should also go for prostate checks at least once a year as from 40 years. If you present early, the doctor or health care giver will examine you and give a diagnosis.   Where there is suspicion, they will start the investigation early enough. They will tell you what you have and how it will be treated.”
The professor pointed out that men who fumigate or work with chemicals are prone to developing malignancies too and should also not store such substances close to the house.
Incidentally, some cancers in children have been linked to their father’s consumption of alcohol and exposure to hydrocarbons. During oil exploration, hydrocarbons that seep into the ground get into our food chain either through the water into fishes or into other food items, ingestion of these can also lead to some cancers. In such cases, we need organisations and the government involved to clean the polluted environment.
Another thing to do to fight cancer is for us to pay attention to our health. The professor said “if you are not feeling well or notice any swelling or pain in any part of the body, you should seek proper medical attention to avoid reporting late as some cancers can be cured if presented early.  Massaging every swelling you see on your body should be avoided, as some of them might be cancerous. When we avoid these things, we can reduce the risks of coming down with certain cancers.”
Talking about corporate effort against cancer, the oncologist said treatment of cancer in Nigeria is expensive. In some countries they enroll people into foundations where they get free treatment. The drugs for treating cancer are not cheap and in an environment where minimum wage is N18,000, to fight cancer has to be by combined effort, as the treatment is not a one off thing like malaria treatment.
Managing cancer in Nigeria is not something that can be handled by an individual alone. Some patients may relapse and you start all over again; so it will take more than an individual effort to fight cancer, considering the financial implicational and the care that patients need. We should also have adequate facilities for the investigations needed before diagnoses and during treatment.
Cancer drugs are also not easily available. Patients need to eat well and be monitored even during treatment to avoid being overwhelmed by the cancer drugs. Drugs that can kill cancer cells can also damage normal cells. That is why medical professionals involved in this area are asking for properly equipped and functional cancer units, including blood banks and organ storage centres to help with some patients that might need transplant.