AN oncologist, Dr Olalekan Olasehinde, has called on women to go for breast screening, saying not all breast lumps are cancerous.
Olasehinde made the call during a free breast screening exercise organised by Lifefount International Hospital in partnership with African Research Group for Oncology in Lagos on Wednesday.
He said, “There are many things that can cause a lump in the breasts. But there are different kinds of lumps, some are cancerous, others are not. Those that are not cancerous are said to be benign, while those that are cancerous are said to be malignant. What is more worrisome of the two is the malignant one, and this is the one that is called breast cancer.
“One major area where we are behind in this country is the lack of radiotherapy equipment; that is where treatment of breast cancer patients in Nigeria differs a little bit from other parts of the world. In Nigeria, once a woman has breast cancer, in most instances, the entire breast is removed not because that ought to be the case always.
“Chemotherapy is still very expensive for many patients because they pay out of pockets. Although, recently we heard that there are moves to include chemotherapy in the National Health Insurance Scheme, once that is done it will be a major relive for many patients.”
The Managing Director of Lifefount International Hospital, Dr Yemisi Adeyeye, said the breast screening was organised to help women detect their status for early treatment.
“We decided to do this during this Breast Cancer Awareness Month to support women to get screened for early diagnosis and treatment. Breast cancer is treatable when detected early,” Adeyeye said.
