Our Reporter
The Chief Medical Director (CMD) of University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital (UITH), Prof. Yusuf Dasilva, has warned that men are as susceptible to breast as women.
He advised both genders to always go for screening.
According to The Nation Newspapers, Dasilva gave the warning while addressing reporters on the sidelines of a “Walk for Breast Cancer Awareness” organised in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, as part of activities marking the Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the commemoration, with the theme: No One Should Face Breast Cancer Alone, was organised by UITH in collaboration with Medical Women Association of Nigeria (MWAN).
The CMD, who was represented by UITH’s Chairman Medical Advisory Committee (CMAC), Prof. Bilyaminu Abayomi, 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, are 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.
Dasilva noted that the theme of the programme was apt, as it would help to raise awareness and drive behavioural change against stigmatisation of those with the disease.
The CMD explained that the exercise was meant to facilitate knowledge sharing and provide a platform for 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 start treatment, if diagnosed early.
Also, a consultant general surgeon at UITH, Dr. Olushola Fasiku, underscored the importance of creating awareness on breast cancer.
Fasiku described breast cancer as the leading cause of cancer deaths in women, adding that over two million cases are recorded yearly globally.
The consultant noted that with appropriate treatment, people with the disease can live long but insisted that men too should go for screening.
A consultant public health physician at UITH’s Department of Epidemiology and Community Health, Dr. Mojirola Fasiku, said one in every eight women would have breast cancer.
Fasiku, who noted that breast cancer has been on the rise, advised all stakeholders to support those with the disease.
She warned against stigmatisation, maintaining that the disease is not contagious.
