Widow who lost home, farms to herdsmen now struck by breast cancer

…Needs N1m for urgent surgery

Okey Sampson, Aba

Fifty-year-old Tina Aka is a native of Blach Ude in Guma Local Government Area of Benue State. But the woman has been hit with a number of pathetic situations.

She recently lost her husband and has been living in one of the camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Benue State following the destruction of her home and farm, which were razed when murderous Fulani herdsmen that sacked her village.

To worsen her pathetic plight, Tina is at the moment down with cancer of the breast.
When she visited the office of The Sun in Aba, Abia State, in company with some relatives, sons and son-in-law, Tina was obviously in excruciating pain. While narrating the genesis of her problems, the woman said: “It started when I noticed some rashes on my left breast, which came with severe pain.

I told some persons about it because it was strange to me. At first, I thought it was a spiritual attack and that made my children to take me to a herbal home, where it got worse.

“It was from the herbal home that I was moved to the Nigeria Christian Hospital, Nlagu (Onicha Ngwa), in Abia State, by my in-law who is residing in Aba. It was there that I was told that I had cancer of the breast and that the best thing they could do was to cut off the affected breast, so that it would not spread to the other one.”

Joshua, her son, who corroborated her account, said the affected breast ripped open after his mother drank a concoction prepared by the herbalist. He said that the family had already paid N30,000 of the N50,000 charged by the herbalist to cure the woman.

He told the reporter that taking care of his mother’s health condition had not been easy for the family and their in-law., as he and his mother had been living with their in-law at Alaoji in Obingwa

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Local Government Area of Abia State since the problem started over a year ago.

Joshua disclosed that his mom, for over one year, has been taking only noodles, pap, yoghurt and bean cake (akara), because she would throw up whenever she made attempts to eat solid food. He added that the ailing breast was always producing an offensive odour.

The woman said she was in need of N500,000 to undergo urgent surgery that would see the affected breast being cut off by a team of medical experts who would be visiting the hospital this month. The alternative for her, she explained, was to wait and undergo more pain for another three months when the team of medical experts from the United States would be visiting again. She said she would also need another N500,000 for proper rehabilitation after the surgery.

A medical report prepared by a consultant pathologist, Dr. C.O. Onwuka, of Surepath Pathology Consultants, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, following tests carried out on the patient, confirmed that she had cancer of the breast.

The report indicated that Tina would require three courses of chemotherapy and actual surgery that would see to the removal of the ruptured breast.

The widow is financially handicapped and cannot afford the amount required for the surgery. Her matter is made worse by the fact that her family land, which could have been sold to raise money, has remained inaccessible in the past three years as a result of the activities of Fulani herdsmen in the area. She is appealing to the governor of her state, Chief Samuel Ortom, and other kind-hearted individuals as well as organisations to come to her aid and save her life.

Tina may be reached on 08079484000. Donations may be sent to her First Bank account: Tina Agnes; account number: 3124097527.

Her doctor, Brain Camazine, could be reached on +12547180659 in the United States or on 07038459683 in Nigeria. The email is HYPERLINK “mailto:[email protected][email protected].

The other expert, Dr. Jumbo, may be reached on 08038986345.