What the future of cancer care means for you
August 2, 2026 12:00 am
Dr. Sylvester Ikhisemojie
Notable experts working in the sub-specialty that deals with the diagnosis, treatment and further care of patients diagnosed with cancer in Nigeria have recently voiced their concerns about the inadequacy of care that these fellow citizens receive. As a medical student back in the day, the treatment of cancer, tuberculosis and leprosy were free in public hospitals.
However, between the period of my entry into clinical rotations and graduation, free treatment for cancer had stopped and the medications were hard to find. It is accepted that free cancer treatment for all affected citizens is unsustainable, and not even the wealthiest nations on earth are able to promise that to their citizens or provide such care.
There has been no change in the availability of anti-neoplastic drugs, as they are called, in Nigeria. They are expensive, to begin with, way beyond the level of affordable financial commitment by the majority of patients. As a result of the prohibitive cost, many frontline chemotherapy treatments are beyond the purchasing power of most people.
In the end, many patients are condemned to rely on medications discarded by the Europeans, North Americans and the wealthy nations of southeast Asia and Oceania. Sadly, those parts of the world where cutting edge treatments are available are also the nations most able to diagnose cancer early.
Therefore, the disadvantaged countries, who are forced to rely on cheaper regimens of treatment, even though they are generally less effective, are the same ones most likely to make the diagnosis late. They are also the countries where ignorance, superstition, disease and poverty are found together with delayed diagnosis due to the prevalence of inadequate personnel, inadequate healthcare facilities, and poor infrastructure of every kind.
In a recent landmark analysis of the scale of the problem, the WHO has said that cancer cases could rise by up to 70 per cent from current levels by 2050. This is more than double the current rates and for poor nations such as Nigeria, that kind of statistic must be truly sobering. However, it is not altogether hopeless because that same analysis has also pointed out that four in 10 new cancer cases around the world are preventable.
That analysis examined the gaps in the diagnosis of cancer in various regions of the world. While over 90 per cent of high-income countries can diagnose early cancer in 60 per cent of cases, that figure crashes to just 28 per cent in the low-income countries. In some parts of Nigeria, such as the crises-ridden northeast and northwest, which bare a strong resemblance to Mali, Niger and South Sudan, that figure could be lower still.
Cancer is a deeply personal disease, according to the WHO’s Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, but whether a person ultimately survives the disease or not should not depend on where they come from or how much money they earn.
In nearly every socio-economic stratum in Nigeria, that remains the most important defining metric on whether life can be preserved, elongated or lost. It is not all bad news; it is being advocated that lifestyle changes and the ability to detect and treat common diseases are important in ultimately controlling the incidence of a vast number of common cancers.
On this page in the past, we have dutifully discussed various types of cancer involving the breast, cervix, pancreas, prostate, colon, and childhood cancers. It is a long list which we cannot ever exhaust.
However, this week’s essay seeks to point at a general direction that people living in Nigeria and other developing countries can take. As many as 7.1 million cases of various cancers around the world are linked to preventable factors.
Many of these cases were identified in sub-Saharan African women where nearly 40 per cent of various cancers could have been prevented with lifestyle changes. Among men, many common cancers in this category were found in east Asia. In pursuit of the reasons why these cancers may be preventable, researchers have found that as many as 9 common cancers may be preventable.
Now, many of these originating infections are preventable through routine screening and vaccination. Sadly, in various parts of Nigeria, access to these services is limited due to human and civil conflict, inadequate resources, vaccine hesitancy and the ceaseless campaign against vaccination from even among healthcare personnel! Infections account for a particularly large share of cancers in both sub-Saharan Africa and parts of Asia, especially in south Asia particularly India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, and Sri Lanka.
While all those countries share many similarities with Nigeria, they trump our country by having a higher gross national product and higher levels of disposable income than the average Nigerian. They also have a greater level of available advanced healthcare. For those of us who neither have the resources nor healthcare access where the relevant diagnosis can be quickly made, here is a synopsis of the kind of cancers that have been identified as preventable.
One of the most common of these infections is the human herpes type 8 which can cause Kaposi sarcoma, a rare type of tumour which sees the development of abnormal growth in the skin, mouth and elsewhere in the body. It is strongly associated with people who have reduced immunity due to HIV/AIDS and organ transplantation.
So, you can avoid getting this type of cancer by avoiding HIV. The next type of infection is Hepatitis, where the B and C types are linked to liver damage and liver cell cancer. To avoid this infection, vaccines are available in many healthcare facilities around the country.
To obtain a vaccination today, just go to any healthcare facility and request for the service. If they don’t have it, they will be able to direct you to where you can get immunised.
Other similar infections include human papilloma virus, HPV, which is linked to cervical cancer and for which there are now various vaccines available for young girls and women from nine years to 30, with a primary focus on adolescent girls. We have also discussed this topic before on this page and advocated that girl-child vaccination against this virus which is responsible for a particularly common cancer is a parenteral imperative.
Another infection is with Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori for short), which we have also discussed on this page in relation to peptic ulcer disease. It is now said to be able to induce stomach cancer and sometimes colon cancer as well. One other common infestation is with Schistosoma haematobium, which causes bladder flukes among people who play and swim in rivers. It often announces its presence with the passage of blood in the urine and is known to cause bladder cancer.
In summary, all you are required to do in each of these conditions is to take the relevant vaccination wherever they are available, treat early any infection or infestation diagnosed in your body, use clean water as much as possible and always have soap available to ensure proper hand hygiene.
Questions and answers
Sunday Doctor, I don’t know if you know about H. pylori, sir. I did a blood test, and it was confirmed positive that I had it. Serious back pains made me do the test, but they haven’t stopped even after two days of injections and drugs. I don’t know what else to do, doctor. I need guidance, please. 0904*******
We have discussed H.pylori before on this page and if all you have taken are injections and drugs, which you did not name, for two days it means you are not yet treating H.pylori. There are specific ways of treating that infection, but you don’t appear to have been guided by a doctor with regards to how you have managed this problem.
Sunday Doctor, I am currently out of the country with my kids and after about 5 days, my 10-year-old daughter started vomiting and having diarrhoea. I gave her a medication that stopped the vomiting, but she is refusing to eat, and the stooling has not stopped. We went to a pharmacy and probiotics were recommended. What should I do? 0803*******
Well, you are approaching this matter from a wrong perspective. A child who has left her native country for another with changes in the diet both during the flight and soon afterwards is liable to suffer from specific infections that will cause gastroenteritis. Traveler’s diarrhoea is possible, so I would urge you to take her to a healthcare facility where a doctor will examine her and give her a proper prescription to avoid having to end up in an emergency room.
Sunday doctor. My son is 13-years-old with a skin condition diagnosed as psoriasis. He was placed on Mometasone creme. Before now, we were using ABF-3 but there was no response. Before Mometasone, he was placed on Tretnoin but I stopped that because I noticed that it was bleaching his skin. Should I use all three cremes together or what do you advise? +1 (708) ********
You should not use all three together because they all contain steroids. Mometasone is the senior derivative of Beclomethasone which is found in ABF-3. So, stop this last one. Use the Tretnoin on the affected areas twice daily and after a couple of hours, apply Mometasone which does not treat the condition but reduces the inflammation caused by Tretnoin. It is strange that your dermatologist didn’t explain these to you.
Good day Sunday doctor, I am a 49-year-old hypertensive on Amlodipine and Zestril. I have been on this treatment since I was 42. But I went recently for a checkup and was told that there was blood in my urine, some proteins and ketones. They are referring me to a urologist and nephrologist. I am terrified. What does this mean? I went on my own to do these tests when I noticed that my urine was foaming all the time. 0803*******
It is very likely that the import of these findings was communicated to you. Perhaps you were not listening. The fear of your primary doctors is justified because you could now be suffering from what is known as hypertensive kidney disease. Execute the referral early so that damage control measures can be activated.
Sunday Doctor, good day to you. I woke up two days ago to find that I have a sore throat. I was already on treatment for a boil in my right armpit with Ciprotab 500mg two times a day. Another doctor has prescribed Ampiclox for me to use in treating the sore throat. Can I use both antibiotics together? 0812*******
Good day to you as well. It is most likely that you did not disclose the current usage of Ciprofloxacin to the doctor treating you. Either medication can treat both the boil and the sore throat. You don’t need to use both medications, and it is advisable that you continue with the use of Ciprofloxacin since you have started with that already.
Sunday Doctor, can you help me out? The two challenges I am having are those of poor erection and that during sex, I don’t ejaculate. Yet, when I am alone, sperm would be coming out by itself from the penis. I am now 62 years old, and this problem has been on for five years. 0803*******
The problem you have may be due to certain hormone levels, especially testosterone and prolactin considering your age. You should see a urologist who will examine you properly and direct you on where to do such tests. Then treatment will be achievable. Lastly, these hormones may also explain why you do not seem to ejaculate. The problem may be that too little sperm is produced.
Sunday Doctor, please what is cellulitis? I saw a doctor who told me that that is what I have on my tummy and it is now bringing out pus. 0802*******
Cellulitis means inflammation of the soft tissues covering that part of the body. The skin, connective tissues both superficial and deep may all be involved, and antibiotic treatment usually cures it in addition to wound dressing.
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