Akeredolu urges support for cancer patients,promises to establish cancer treatment center
Ondo State Governor, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu (SAN), has said that his administration is committed to the fight against breast cancer and its prevention which has led to several untimely deaths adding that a cancer treatment center would soon be established in the state.
The governor also said that his administration would take efforts aimed at treating the disease seriously.
The governor said this on Monday while receiving members of the Breast Cancer Association of Nigeria (BRECAN) during a courtesy call at the Governor’s Office in Akure.
According to him, many patients end up not surviving because of late detection of the disease which he described as one of the most deadly.
According to him “If you are not lucky, no amount of money can save you from the pangs of this deadly disease.”
Akeredolu also said that he had committed a lot of his personal resources to the fight of breast cancer for long, urging early detection of the disease to prevent it from advancing.
Speaking earlier, the National President of BRECAN, Mrs. Juliet Ogbuogu, who described Akeredolu as a unique ambassador of BRECAN, said the governor had always been a supportive person especially in that area.
Ogbuogu called for the establishment of cancer treatment centre in Ondo State adding that a screening machine is needed in the state.
She urged Akeredolu to use his good office to lobby the state House of Assembly to make case for breast cancer control in the budget to support the disease’s prevention advocacy.
Founder of BRECAN, who is also the lady of Ondo State, Mrs. Betty Anyawu-Akeredolu, lamented the dearth of cancer treatment centres in the country.
She called on the governor to hearken to the cries of the women and ensure that Ondo State establishes a treatment centre as soon as possible.
Responding to the demands of BRECAN, Akeredolu recalled that such a request had earlier been made by similar organizations.
He however assured that the center would be established to ensure that the disease is detected and treated early enough to save the lives of women in the state.
