The MedicAid Cancer Foundation (MCF), has advised Nigerians to ensure they go for regular cancer screening in order to have early detection of the disease.
Dr Zainab Shinkafi-Bagudu, the chief executive officer of the organisation, on Saturday, gave the advice in Abuja during the foundation’s annual awareness walk and fundraising campaign against cancer tagged #WalkAwayCancer.
Bagudu, and also the former First Lady of Kebbi State, explained that early detection was key to reducing mortality and morbidity from the disease but lamented that most people present late for cancer diagnosis and care in the country.
According to her, “Nigerians should harness the opportunity of the federal government’s recent introduction of the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine into the country for girls between the ages of 9 to 14, and doing so will help protect them against cervical cancer.”
She said that the vaccine is safe, very effective, and that many countries in Africa, like Rwanda, have introduced it. She advised Nigerians to disregard rumours that the HPV vaccine could cause infertility.
She said the foundation’s annual awareness walk against cancer, which is in its 14th year, was geared towards creating awareness, assuring that the walk always recorded a massive turnout of cancer advocates, survivors, policymakers, non-state actors and Nigerians in general.
