Cancer is no longer a death sentence, Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare Prof. Muhammad Pate said on Tuesday.
Pate, who spoke in Abuja at the opening of the 2024 International Cancer Week (ICW), said advanced technology now aides cancere treatment and care for patients.
The week has the theme: “Accelerating Nigeria’s path to comprehensive cancer control: Innovation, access and partnership.”
According to the minister, due to genomics, advances in the technology of developing interventions and precision medicine, there is the possibility that an increasing number of cancers would be curable.
He, however, said that it was not over yet, adding that even with technological advancements, cancer now stood as the fastest growing Non-Communicable Disease in Nigeria.
Pate said: “We don’t have the luxury of waiting until more people have cancer to deal with it. We don’t have the resources, the infrastructure, and the equipment.
“As we celebrate the Cancer Week, we have to reflect on what we can do on the prevention side, the screening side, on treatment, rehabilitation, the research and development side.”
He reiterated the Federal Government’s committed to ensuring that the transformation being embarked on to turn the tide was built on sound science, research and development.
The minister added that President Bola Tinubu, early in the year, approved the establishment of six major cancer infrastructure and equipment to ease the burden on patients.
“Two of those six will be commissioned by May 2025 and the rest will follow, we’re also expanding the diagnostic centers and rebuilding the oncology workforce across the spectrum,” Pate said.
He urged Nigerians to focus on taking steps to prevent the disease by getting screened regularly.
