Prostate cancer kills 14 Nigerian men daily —Expert

Prostate cancer kills 14 men everyday in Nigeria, Dr Abia Nzelu, coordinator, National Cancer Prevention Programme (NCPP), Lagos State branch, has said.

Nzelu, who said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Tuesday, noted that the figure was based on studies.

She said that most men report their cancer cases late when the symptoms had already manifested and attributed the situation to ignorance.

According to her, people die unnecessarily, even when they are diagnosed because there are no facilities to treat them.

"Prostate cancer, the second commonest cancer in men, kills 14 men in Nigeria every day. This is not acceptable because it can be prevented.

"India has over 120 comprehensive cancer centres and we don't have even one centre that has everything to take care of any kind of cancer and carry out world class research.

"We need something like this in our country. Some of those who have cancer can afford to travel for medical attention, but what of those that cannot?

"In Nigeria, cancer is like a death sentence that is why most deaths here are unnecessary; they are untimely.

"When we had the Dana crash, we were all shouting, but each day people are dying of cancer. They are dying silently, that is why we are not doing anything about it," she said.

Nzelu said prevention should be through life- style modification, screening and routine checkups, at least once a year for those who are 40 and above.

She noted that regular exercise, losing weight and imbibing the culture of health maintenance could reduce the risk by 50 per cent.

She advocated the establishment of cancer centres in each of the six-geopolitical zones, adding that such centres could be built through self-help projects rather than waiting for government.

"The only way to go about it is to get our own comprehensive cancer centres and we cannot wait for government to get them," Nzelu noted.