Chief Medical Director (CMD) of the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital (UITH), Prof. Yusuf Dasilva, says men can also be affected by breast cancer, advising both genders to always go for screening.
Dasilva stated this in an interview with newsmen on the sidelines of a ‘Walk for Breast Cancer Awareness’, organised in Ilorin, as part of the activities marking Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the programme, with the theme: “No One Should Face Breast Cancer Alone”, was organised by UITH, in collaboration with the Medical Women Association of Nigeria (MWAN).
The CMD, who was represented by Prof. Bilyaminu Abayomi, Chairman Medical Advisory Committee (CMAC), UITH, described breast cancer as a disease in which malignant (cancer) cells form in the tissues of the breast.
According to him, certain factors, including increasing age and obesity, increase the risk of breast cancer. Others, he said, were: harmful use of alcohol, family history of breast cancer, history of radiation exposure, reproductive history (such as age that menstrual periods began and age at first pregnancy), tobacco use and postmenopausal hormone therapy.
The CMD said that the theme of the programme was apt, as it would help to raise awareness and drive behavioural change against the stigmatisation of those with the disease.
He stated further that the exercise was to facilitate knowledge sharing provide a platform for the dissemination of breast cancer information and sensitise people on the need to get screened and ensure early diagnosis to save lives.
According to him, breast cancer is not a death sentence, as people can commence treatment if diagnosed early. Also speaking, a Consultant General Surgeon at UITH, Dr Olushola Fasiku, underscored the importance of creating awareness of breast cancer.
According to Fasiku, breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in women, adding that over two million cases are recorded yearly globally. To him, there is treatment and people can live, insisting that men too should go for screening.
In her remarks, Dr Mojirola Fasiku, a Consultant Public Health Physician in the Department of Epidemiology and Community Health, UITH, said one in every eight women would have breast cancer.
Fasiku, who noted that breast cancer had been on the rise, called on all stakeholders to support those with the disease. She warned against stigmatisation, maintaining that the disease was not contagious.