The Lagos State Government has disclosed that not less than 100,000 women will benefit from its free breast and cervical cancer screening.
This is in line with the Lagos State plan to ensure early detection and treatment for the killer disease.
According to a statement on its Facebook page on Saturday titled, ‘Lagos to screen 100,000 women for breast, cervical cancer annually’, the state government said the gesture was to ensure a cancer-free and healthy society in the state and commemorate 2022 World Cancer Day.
Permanent Secretary of the Lagos State Ministry of Health, Olusegun Ogboye, disclosed this at Ikosi-Isheri Local Council Development Area Secretariat, the venue of a community outreach campaign programme held to commemorate the World Cancer Day in Lagos.
Ogboye noted that free screenings for breast and cervical cancer have since commenced in 62 State health facilities, including designated General Hospitals offering gynaecology and obstetrics care services and flagship primary health care centres across the state.
He stated that this year’s World Cancer Day with the theme, ‘Close The Care Gap’, has provided another opportunity to improve awareness on cancer and to encourage its prevention through early screening and detection, diagnosis and prompt treatment of the various types of cancers.
He said, “Cancer is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Globally, nearly one in six deaths are due to cancer and 70 per cent of these deaths occur in low and middle-income countries such as Nigeria”.
