The Permanent Secretary in the Ondo State Ministry of Health, Mrs Folukemi Aladenola, has lauded the `giant strides“ of the state’s First Lady, Mrs Betty Anyanwu-Akeredolu, in combating the scourge of cancer.
Aladenola gave the commendation on Wednesday while speaking at the 2021 Town Hall Meeting on Cervical Cancer held at the Idanre Local Government Secretariat, Owena, Ondo State.
She said that the commitment towards fighting cervical cancer in the state, orchestrated by the governor’s wife, could not be over-emphasised in terms of her continuous drive by educating, promoting awareness and consistently providing informational and emotional support to newly diagnosed patients and survivors.
The permanent secretary described cervical cancer as a preventable and curable disease, if detected early and adequately treated.
Aladenola, however, noted that cervical cancer remained one of the most common cancers and causes of cancer-related deaths in women across the world as the annual incidence of the disease was on the increase.
She said that as part of the state government’s concerted efforts towards raising awareness on cervical cancer among women in the state, the administration was collaborating with other organisations driven by the same passion to help disabuse the myth around cervical cancer as being a spiritual attack.
“The Ondo State 2021 Breast and Cervical Cancer Project-Awareness is a collaborative effort between the Breast Cancer Association of Nigeria (BRECAN) and the Ondo State Ministry of Health is geared towards implementing appropriate strategies for prevention, early detection and prompt treatment in the 18 local government areas of the state,” she said.
In her speech, Akeredolu, represented by the wife of the state deputy governor, Mrs Oluwaseun Ayedatiwa, noted that implementing the global strategy to eliminate cervical cancer was of utmost importance to the present administration in the state and Nigeria at large as the burden of cervical cancer was high.
According to her, every day 41 women residing in Nigeria, are diagnosed of cervical cancer, most of which occur at the late stage while another 29 women die each day as a result of cervical cancer complications.
This data, Mrs Akeredolu, noted makes Nigeria ranks among countries with the highest cervical cancer burden in the world.
She described the elimination of cervical cancer as a fight for all, saying all must work together to achieve victory.
In a lecture she delivered at the event, Dr Ndidi Okunnuga, a Medical Consultant at the University of Medical Sciences Teaching Hospital (UNIMEDTH), Ondo described cervical cancer as a serious threat to women’s health globally.
Okunnuga highlighted the symptoms of cervical cancer to include bleeding from the vagina by menopausal women and watery discharge from the vagina, among others.
The medical consultant noted that treatment was available for women suffering from cervical cancer through surgery while, advocating proper hygiene and regular cervical screening for women, especially nursing mothers.
She also canvassed for vaccination against the disease, a step, she noted could prevent women from contracting it. (NAN)
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