From Our Correspondent
A medical practitioner, Dr Ayuba Hannatu Usman, has advised Nigerians to be wary of undue exposure to chemical compounds that can cause bone cancer.
Usman gave the advice in a presentation at the fifth online sensitisation webinar organised by two health-focused NGOs, the Khayr Cancer Health Initiative (KCHI) and the Cancer Consciousness Initiative (CCI).
TheNewsZenith reports that Usman titled her presentation “Bone Cancer: Early Detection, Risk Factors, Diagnosis and Prevention”.
She asserted that exposure to chemical agents could be harmful to humans.
According to her, such harmful chemicals include chromium salts, beryllium oxide, asbestos and aniline dyes.
Others are beryllium silicate, herbicides, wood preservatives and vinyl chloride. They are, mostly, industrial chemicals.
“These exposures are mostly from different occupational activities,” Usman, who is a Senior Registrar at the Dept of Radiotherapy and Oncology, National Hospital Abuja, Nigeria, said.
She emphasised on exposing little children to these agents and the different malignancies associated with these chemical agents.
Another expert, Dr Nafisa Mamman Mohammed, also made a presentation on the rehabilitation of bone cancer patients in Nigeria.
Mohammed, also a registrar in the same hospital, highlighted many activities by the multidisciplinary team that impact positively on bone cancer care.
She listed several multidisciplinary approaches to the management of bone cancers and harped on early detection to aid treatment.
“Regrettably, most bone cancer cases are often presented late to the hospital.
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“This is when great damage would have been done to the system.
“There is a need for more grassroots awareness creation and efforts at prompting case detection and early referral to the appropriate healthcare centres.
“This will aid care and better patient outcomes,” TheNewsZenith quotes Muhammed as advising.
A Consultant (Paediatrics) at the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospitals Complex, Ile-Ife, Osun State, Dr Aderounmi Temilade, facilitated the webinar.
Also contributing, Prof. Bello Abubakar encouraged men about the age of 40 to regularly assess themselves for prostate-specific antigen (PSA).
Abubakar said that it is necessary to monitor their health adequately.
Several medical and non-medical practitioners, who attended the webinar spoke on the need for strong collaborations and exchange of ideas in the management of cancers and other related health conditions.
Earlier in a welcome address, Mr Kazeem Owolabi (Board of Trustee member, Monitoring & Evaluation, KCHI) acknowledged the roles of physicians and allied health professionals in reducing the scourge of cancers in Nigeria.
Owolabi sought for more grassroots mobilisation to aid public education about the scourge of the disease.
The event was part of activities commemorating 2024 Bone Cancer Awareness Month.
TheNewsZenith recalls that Nigeria, officially declared cancer a notifiable disease on June 28, to bolster the fight against cancer.
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