The Federal Government says it will establish dedicated cancer chemotherapy wards in nine federal tertiary institutions in the country.
Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, disclosed this in Akure, Ondo State, at the 3rd International Symposium and 20th anniversary of Breast Cancer Association of Nigeria (BRECAN), yesterday.
Represented by Dr. Victor Adetiloye, the Chief Medical Director (CMD), Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital (OAUTH), Ile-Ife, Osun State, he said the centre would be provided with all necessary equipment to provide adequate supportive care lacking in hospitals.
He added that government had also started a process of reducing the cost of cancer drugs by 50 percent in hospitals through direct procurement to ensure availability of quality and cost-effective chemotherapy agents in the country.
He said the initiatives would make cancer treatment relatively affordable by patients.
Governor Rotimi Akeredolu promised to establish a breast cancer management centre to support the fight against the scourge.
He reiterated his commitment to the fight, saying: “I believe in your advocacy and I will do what I can for BRECAN because it is for people of Ondo State in particular and Nigeria in general.
“We will establish breast cancer management centre. We will pursue this with what we have and it will be done.
“We will look for a good architect to design it because breast cancer must be vigorously fought.”
The governor, who solicited support for breast cancer awareness campaign, also called on well meaning Nigerians to help those in dire need to combat breast cancer.
He said all hands must be on deck to fight the dreaded disease, calling on women to strive hard to have proper knowledge of the scourge.
Akeredolu thanked BRECAN for its 20 years of doggedness and resolute firmness to fight the scourge, saying it was a good forum to discuss strategies of fighting cancer.
He thanked his wife, Betty, founder of BRECAN, and other members of the association for their unrelenting efforts to create proper awareness on cancer.
BRECAN founder described the association as a beacon of hope for womenfolk: “I am ready to tell anyone, who cares to listen, that breast cancer can be defeated if we do right things at right time.
“I am proud of BRECAN achievements recorded so far and the struggle continues.”
In his paper tagged, “Attitude towards Breast Cancer in Nigeria: The Way Forward,” Prof. Friday Okonofua, Vice Chancellor, University of Medical Sciences, Ondo, recommended intensive awareness reaction and information dissemination: