By Emmanuel Obisue
Concerned doctors have urged women, especially those residing in the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, to take issues surrounding breast cancer seriously, noting that early detection will reduce complications.
Speaking over the weekend to journalists in Sauka community in Waru District, Abuja Municipal Area Council of the FCT during an awareness rally, Doctor Audu Hassan, a Nasarawa-based physician, preached that women must pay attention to the early signs and symptoms of breast cancer.
“First, you should take note of abnormal enlargement of your breasts, you should watch out for redness of the nipple, and then lumps.
“Growth of cancer takes about 180 days or six months to manifest. When you feel the symptoms, within this period, you should proceed for diagnosis and treatment,” he said.
A Community Health Practitioner, David Sarah, noted that breast cancer is not peculiar to women alone. “There are some men that also experience it, but it is fewer, as women experience it more,” she said.
On some of the causes of breast cancer, she lamented that, “most people in this era have involved themselves in alcoholism, some of them due to stress, or one thing or the other”.
“According to research, women from the age of 50 years and above are more exposed to breast cancer. But it has come to our notice that even people lesser the 50 are beginning to experience breast cancer. So, it an advice to each and every one of us to know how to handle our lifestyle, attitude, eating habit and do regular exercise,” she added.
Also lending his voice to the call, Abbas Bello, a member of the Avenue Data System Communication, told newsmen that the rallyiwas held simultaneously in Kaduna State.
The awareness rally was jointly organized by the Think Pink Initiative for Breast Cancer Foundation, in partnership with Mustard Clinic and Maternity Service Ltd.
The Think Pink Initiative was founded in Kaduna State by Dr Fatima Alkali alongside other medical practitioners such as Dr Rabi Mado, Dr Halima Suleiman, and Dr Aisha Ahmed.
