By Kayode Adeoti
A Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Mallam Yusuf Olaolu-Ali has urged the Federal Government to declare free treatment for persons living with cancer in order to help minimise the spread of the ailment in the society.
Ali made the call during the annual Ghalib Anti-Corruption Walk themed; “Cancer Awareness” held in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital.
He said making the treatment of cancer free should transcend mere pronouncement but with attendant provision of equipment in public medical facilities.
Ali, who noted that treatment of cancer could be expensive including medications, called for government’s intervention as practiced in other climes.
The legal luminary stated that the ailment is prevalent in the society because medics are still grappling to ascertain the causative factors, saying that it would be in the interest of every citizen that the government makes its treatment free.
Identifying breast, cervix and prostate cancer as the types of the disease that afflicts both female and male folks, Ali said timely treatment could go a long way in curbing the mortality rate from it.
“For our government to be seen to be up and doing, cancer treatment should be made free for all citizens. That is what happens in other places in the world, because nobody really knows the causative. Up till now, medics are still battling to know what exactly causes cancer.
“For malaria, it is about mosquito bite. For cancer, any predisposing factor could just come in, and that is why the treatment is very expensive, because the drugs are expensive. The chemotherapy is expensive, that is why governments outside Nigeria take it upon themselves and we are urging our government to emulate that.
“Cancer treatment should be free. If it is free, it should not be just by pronouncement. All the necessary equipment should be made available in all government hospitals so that people could have access. Timely treatment could also assist in reducing the mortality from cancer,” Ali said.
The legal luminary, who told newsmen that the theme of this year’s walk was arrived at due to mortality rate arising from cancer, admonished Nigerians to avoid junk foods and to embark on exercise three times a week.
The SAN added, “We chose to draw attention to the scourge of cancer in our society. Medical experts informed us that cancer is more prevalent with the Africans, and we must draw our attention to the fact that people should try to live well and do medical checkup.
“And for adult male, we were told that after the age of 40, medical test is very important, especially to check the postrate, to be sure that it is still intact and it is not malignant. So, we also want to draw attention to the fact that healthy living has been found to be a solution to the recurrence or the prevalence of cancer.
“We want to draw our attention to all these, that we should try to exercise, if not daily, at least, three times a week. We should try to live well, ensure that you don’t take what people termed “junk food” most times, eat and drink moderately”.
