Experts in the Medical field have warned that the increasing rate of cancer prevalence among Nigerians is attributable to the unhealthy dietary intake of Nigerians.
This position was made known on Wednesday in Osogbo by speakers at the opening ceremony of a week-long cancer sensitization and screening workshop themed “Who shall deliver us from this deadly plague?”
It was organised by the Gracious Youth Empowerment Center, a non-governmental organisation, in partnership with the Osun Ministry of Health and the Federal Ministry of Health.
Speaking at the event, Prof. Dapo Campbell, pioneer head, Radiation Oncology, University Teaching Hospital, Ibadan, and a member of the National Consultative Committee on Cancer Control, said cancer remains the leading cause of death amongst non-communicable diseases in Nigeria and a leading cause of death worldwide.
He noted that the prevalence has been on the increase in the country due to low level of awareness and gross inadequacy of treatment facilities for patients.
Campbell, who delivered a paper on ‘the Clinical Perspective to Cancer Prevention and Treatment’, also observed that cancer, which kills over 10,000 people in the country annually with 250,000 new cases being recorded yearly, has been on the rise due to the poor dietary habit of many Nigerians.