Dr Sunday Omoyowa, a medical practitioner, says prevention remains the best method to fight cancer when integrated with prevention of chronic diseases and other related conditions.
Omoyowa said this at a lecture on “Reducing Cancer Mortality in Nigeria” on Thursday in Abuja.
He listed the prevention to include reproductive health, hepatitis B immunisation. HIV/AIDS, occupational and environmental health to offer the most cost effective long term method of cancer control.
The medical practitioner however expressed worry that many cancer preventive measures which were both cost effective and inexpensive were not being observed patients in the country.
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He said that the measures included behavioural changes and other activities that would prevent or reduce exposure to risk factors associated with cancer.
According to him, the risk factors include tobacco and alcohol consumption, dietary factors, physical inactivity, overweight and obesity.
Others are infections like hepatitis B, human papilloma virus, exposure to environmental and occupational carcinogens and exposure to radiation, he said.
He stated that the aim of early detection was to detect cancer when it was localised to the organ of origin and before it invaded the surrounding tissues and distant organs.
According to him, the aim of cancer treatment is to cure the cancer, prolong life after the diagnosis is confirmed by appropriate procedures and the outcome of treatment was better with early detection of the disease.
He explained that cancer diagnosis would not only have a physical impact on the patient and the family but it equally had emotional, social, psychological and spiritual consequences. (NAN)
