Sadly, I have lost one too many! 20 years and counting, I still weep at the lackadaisical attitude of many who have ignored the early warning signs of Breast Cancer.
Alas! It’s too late.
It is amazing the amount of attention a lot of women pay to their faces. Willingly we give our faces 30 minutes of luxury make-up time in the morning. Another 20 minutes we devote easily at night to take off the make-up. Yet we fail to give our breasts the same or any type of attention. This should not be the case!
Both breasts are asking for just 5 minutes of your time just once a month. Please don’t ignore them. Don’t lose your life to chance. Most importantly, remember that early detection is key.
My heart bleeds when survivors groan and cry for the inability to commence Radiotherapy treatment at the appropriate time as the queue is unbelievable. At the moment, the only functional Federal Radiotherapy machine working is in Sokoto State. How very disheartening.
Must we seek medical attention outside Nigeria when we are richly blessed with funds and many brilliant medical practitioners who are helpless due to lack of adequate tools to work with? Not to mention the high incidence of misdiagnosis due to the inefficiency of many doctors which leads to high mortality rate.
Nigeria is honestly long overdue for a Comprehensive Cancer Center. We can do it if we indeed set our minds to it.
The onus is on you to take advantage of our services at COPE which include:
Nationwide breast cancer awareness campaigns in churches, markets, schools, health centers and corporate organizations.
Training of volunteers to assist in information dissemination
Free counseling and IEC materials
Free Breast Ultrasound Scan every 3rd Saturday of the month
Free Breast Cancer Information Service center {BCIS Library}
Free breast examination referrals for Mammography and MRI
Support Group for breast cancer survivors every 3rd Thursday of the month
Offer on request, cervical screening, Blood pressure, Random Blood Sugar Test, PSA, and Body Mass Index {BMI}
Remember, preventive measures are lot cheaper than curative. Let us be your breast friend.
Collectively, we can beat the big C.
Ebun Anozie is the Founder of COPE, a national organisation dedicated to education, information, awareness and treatment advocacy for breast cancer.
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