A consultant clinical oncologist and lecturer at the College of Medicine, University of Lagos, Dr. Omolola Salako, has advised cancer patients to seek specialists’ attention for the treatment of their ailment rather than embracing medications from quack doctors, spiritualists and non-specialists.

According to her, cancer patients die due to wrong diagnosis and treatment methods, adding that treatment of cancer is ‘super-specialised’ and required the effort of experts to handle because cancer was not a death sentence.

She spoke during the 2nd Annual Memorial Cancer Awareness Lecture, organised by Ellen Adeyinka Anjorin Cancer Foundation with the theme, ‘Cancer treatment with special reference to Chemotherapy: pros and cons’, held in Lagos.

Salako said, “Cancer is an uncontrollable and fast cell division and/or growth, a terminal disease in which abnormal cells grow in a particular part of the body with the potential of spreading and distorting the body’s immune system and tissues without respect for age, gender or race.

“Cancer in women occurs usually as breast or cervical cancer while in men, it’s either prostate or kidney cancer. It is a public health crisis in Nigeria with about 120, 000 new cases per annum. The treatment of cancer is so delicate that is why the effort of specialists is key for patients’ survival.”

The oncologist who identified cancer care as a complex task added that its treatments ‘requires collaboration among health care professionals’ with complementary clinical skills who work together to share the latest evidence, expertise and exchange information.

Also speaking, the Founder, EAACF, Olusegun Anjorin, said, the foundation was named after his wife, Ellen Anjorin, who died from cancer of the colon, while undergoing chemotherapy, adding that ‘the foundation was formed in her honour to serve as a living memorial’.

According to him, he discovered that financial implications, treatment patterns and education are paramount issues of concern in cancer management.

A consultant clinical oncologist and lecturer at the Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria, Dr. Ismail Zubair, while delivering his lecture on ‘Coping with the side effects of chemotherapy and outlook’ said, “Chemotherapy is a treatment modality for cancer patients where a drug or a combination of drugs are administered to eradicate cancer cells from the body.