Cancer: Centre advocates increased awareness, screening for rural women
The National Centre for Women Development (NCWD) has advocated for increased cancer awareness and free screening, especially for women and children in rural areas.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that cancer is the uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells in the body which develops when the body’s normal control mechanism stops working.
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World Cancer Day is an international day marked on Feb. 4, to raise awareness of cancer and to encourage its prevention, detection, and treatment.
The Director General, NCWD, Mrs Mary Ekpere-Eta, made this call on the sidelines of the visit by the ambassador to Sweden to Nigeria, Carl-Michael Grans to the centre on Tuesday in Abuja.
According to Ekpere-Eta, the efforts would aide in early detection of cancer, particularly breast and cervical cancers, which affects women more.
She said the centre had written to some states to collaborate with them on creating more cancer awareness and the need for self examination, as well as the need to consult medical experts at the onset of symptoms
“What we do basically is advocacy, we have written to several states and they are responding, we will go to educate the women on self examination,” she said.
The NCWD boss, therefore stressed the need for women to engage in regular screening, as well as report all health challenges to medical facilities to get help.
