- Advocates vaccination, improved awareness
From Adanna Nnamani Abuja
Dr Ruquaya Mir, a Surgical Oncologist at the Apollo Hospitals in Delhi, India has associated poor hygiene, late childbirth, and alcoholism among other unhealthy habits to cervical and breast cancers.
Ruquaya, who spoke to Journalists recently in Abuja, also advocated increased awareness, access to regular screening for early detection and provision of vaccines for prevention in Nigeria.
According to the doctor, most of the Nigerian women with cancer who come to India for medical care are usually at an already advanced stage of the disease, making it difficult to get the needed help.
She said the human papillomavirus caused by poor hygiene was the leading cause of cervical cancer and urged the government to provide accessible vaccination to prevent it, especially in young women.
The surgeon said: “In Nigeria, what is basically the problem is that we get so many cases of breast cancer and cervical cancer which are already in the advanced stage.
“So it is the duty of the basic medical officers to tell the public as well as the ladies to go for regular screening which is very easy and cost-effective and can be done in the office.
“It just requires a pap smear done by the gynaecologist, seen by the oncologist and the result is made available within the next 24 hours. Same with breast cancer screening. All We need is a simple machine for mammograms which is not very expensive and can be implemented in the various states of the country so that most of the ladies know that they have to go every year on their birthday for the mammogram. So that even if there is a tumour, it can be picked up at a very early stage and at a curable stage.
“We see a lot of African women presenting advanced cervical cancer. And a lot of times we feel sorry for them. So one needs to know if the help for early detection in their home countries are not readily available and if they are not, we need to make them available.
“It can be prevented because cervical cancer is caused by infection and that infection is caused by poor hygiene. There should be awareness to the girls in schools while they are still young and vaccines too which are very effective and not expensive. It can be afforded by the state governments.
“Breast cancer is a lifestyle disease. Obesity, alcohol intake, late marriages, and late childbirth are all causative factors. It’s multifactorial. Everything leads to a high incidence of breast cancer. That is why it is more common in the urban areas compared to the rural areas because of lifestyle is more westernised. No activities and a sedentary lifestyle are other factors though the genetic reason is just in 5 to ten per cent of the cases.
She added that “The fact is that cancer in two-thirds of the cases is caused by infections only. Take stomach cancer for instance, it is caused by the H-pylori bacteria which can be prevented.
“As we said about cervical cancer, it is caused by human papillomavirus which is caused by poor hygiene. Hepatitis is caused by a preventable virus. So, most of the viruses are actually preventable.
“So the government needs to implement vaccination against these infections so that the incidence of cancer can be brought down. And secondly, the medical specialists have to understand where the problem lies. The problem lies in the early diagnosis. If a patient comes with bleeding in the rectum, rather than just assuming that it is haemorrhoid, you need a simple examination of the patient and it just requires you to put your finger in the rectum, it doesn’t cost anything.”
