By Abisola Yusuf
Breast cancer is one of the most deadly forms of Cancer. It has cut short many lives if it is not detected early enough.
According to Professor O. Olopade, a Breast Cancer specialist and director of the Cancer Risk Clinic in the departments of medicine and human genetics at the University of Chicago Hospitals: ‘The five-year survival rate for breast cancer patients in the United States exceeds 85%, in Nigeria it is a dismal 10%; Cancer awareness, even among physicians, and much more so among women at risk, needs an enormous boost in Nigeria’.
NET spoke with a couple of women residing in the City of Lagos, asking them how regularly they visit the hospital to go get mammogramed:
DEOLA (Student): I have never gone for check up except for maybe when I was doing medicals when I just gained admission. I just check for lumps occasionally.
SOPHIE (Youth Corper): There was a time when I thought I had a lump so I told my sister, she checked for me and discovered it was a lump. I then went to the hospital where I saw a specialist who checked, confirmed it was a lump but then he asked me if I was menstruating I answered in the affirmative so he told me that I should check back when I was not menstruating. When I checked there was no lump so he told me that changes occur when a woman is menstruating.
AMINAT YUSSUFF (Accountant): I check regularly by myself but I haven’t been to the hospital to do the usual check-up.
JENNIFER ONWE (Graduate): I check for lumps once in a week. Cancer is very scary you know.
PEJU ADESANYA (Businesswoman): I don’t know o. I don’t do.
COMFORT (Student and Dancer): I check once in a while by myself. A couple of months ago I found out that a friend of mine had a cancerous lump in her breast which her doctor advised her close to a year ago to remove but she didn’t do that and now her doctor is saying that the breast might have to be cut off. But for some reasons her mum is telling to pray and she is just 20yrs, what then would happen if her breast is cut off? I think more people should check themselves or go for medical check-up when they can.
TUNMISE: My boyfriend checks it for me. I don’t need to go to any doctor my boyfriend is more than capable.
TUNRAYO: I have not done any check-up. But in my opinion I think that more people need to be sensitised about the issue of breast cancer.
FUNMI (Student): I check for myself while having my birth or while told because I was told that is the best posture to assume when you want to check for lumps in your breast. I learnt this when my mum lost one of her closest friends to breast cancer that wasn’t detected early 12yrs ago
ADEOLA: I only check when I see my cousin because she is a medical doctor who makes us check every time we see.
EBUNOLUWATOKE (Student and Visual Artist); I have never gone to the hospital to check but recently I discovered had a lump which is not cancerous but I still have to remove it. My surgery for its removal would be sometimes this month.
TUNMININU: There was a time I used to think that this disease was peculiar to women alone but I heard from a friend that some guys also get it but it is more deadly in guys because guys don’t check for lumps themselves. We never can get enough info about breast cancer so more centres should be set up to inform people more.
WUNMI: I have had a lump removed once but it wasn’t cancerous. I noticed this lump one day when I decided to do my routine lump heck for myself. I think people need to be educated more about what cancer is all about, how to check sand how good it is to go for medical check-up regularly because who knows one might have it and not know until it is probably too late and the breast has to be cut off like Angelina Jolie’s own.
MRS IYABO (Married Woman and Store Owner): I have never checked myself and I have never been to the hospital to check for it either. I have just been lucky just like my daughters have been lucky and I am so happy for that.
