For some, it is a journey of gruelling rebirth; for many it is the drops of poison leading to a passage in death’s waiting jaw. The torments are in myriads: physical, emotional, psychological and financial. HANNAH OJO met some patients and survivors of breast cancer and writes on their ordeal.
Would you need a nose mask?” Felix Ogoh, a prophet asked the reporter as she stepped into the wooden shank housing Emilia Akpede. Bowled over with breast cancer, the Delta State-born Akepede laid in bed with a weak frame and a frail voice.
There are no medical records available to determine the stage of her ailment but the stench and ruptured sight of the breast predisposes a stage 3 cancer. Her battle with breast cancer started three years ago.
“It started with a lump. A doctor in Delta State instructed that I do a mammogram so I could be recommended for a mastectomy. The scan did not reveal much, so the result was declared inconclusive. There was no money to carry out other scans, so the breast started getting bigger. By the time it began to bring out pus, I thought that was the end of it. I never knew my problem had just begun”.
Akpede confided in the reporter that her condition has left her with no source of income, a development which has affected her ability to access medical care. Though she has four children, she could not count on them to provide for her since they are young and dependent on relatives. Her aged father who was shouldering the financial cost of her medical care also died some months ago. There is no husband to share her burden with and no health insurance package to fall back on.
Convinced she is a victim of spiritual attack, the school cert holder resolved to seek healing at the Glory of God Must Shine Ministry, a church located in the Pure Water area of Badagry Expressway, manned by Prophet Felix Ogoh. She has been living in the church’s premises since November, 2016.
Though she confessed to feeling better since she has been under the prophet’s care, saying the tumor on the breast is healing up, however, she appealed for help in order to enable her visit an hospital for a comprehensive treatment. Forty five-year-old Akpede has not been through chemotherapy or blood transfusion since her ordeal with cancer started three years ago.
In a chat with The Nation, Prophet Felix Ogoh said he was convinced to offer assistance to Akpede since she is under spiritual captivity.
“She was rejected from the hospital and she has been suffering for three years. We call it African virus. Computer cannot detect it”, said the 43-year-old cleric who confessed to using anointing oil and ‘holy’ water to dress Akpede’s ruptured breast.
Akpan: Life is more important than two breasts
A realtor by profession, Miss Akpan (she refused to disclose her surname), was 33 when she was diagnosed of breast cancer.
“I went through three different tests because I wanted to be sure. I did a fourth test which came out cancerous and the next thing to do was mastectomy. I didn’t take too much time in taking that decision because I figured out my life is more important than two dangling breasts”, she stated.
Four years after having a mastectomy, Akpan described her survivor journey as a blissful one, citing her faith in God as well as support from her doctors and family as a motivation. She described her therapy experience as one of the worst she had to survive. The treatment didn’t come cheap; it claimed her savings and her car. The church also stepped in to sort out about 60 percent of the bill, while her family also rallied round her for support.
Sounding a note of caution on the need for prevention, she said: “My message to women is to check themselves on a biannual basis. It is not a sin to feel your body. In my own case, I discovered the lump early enough and I concentrated on my treatment. I now run my own company and if I didn’t open my mouth to say it, nobody can suspect that I have had a breast removed.”
George: I tried herbalists and churches
For 48- year- old Mrs Kehinde George, being diagnosed with breast cancer in 2014 was a sort of a rude awakening. Within the space of two years, she had double mastectomy and is still undergoing treatment.
“When I was diagnosed with breast cancer, I thought if I went to herbalists and churches, they would be able to restore my breast but I later faced the fate that it is only God and doctors that can help me. My experience with chemotherapy was bad; I was vomiting for almost a week but I went through it”, George reminisced.
As a civil servant, her income was not enough to take care of her treatment which ran into a million naira. She also had to depend on family members for support and she acknowledged the role played by COPE( Care Organisation Public Enlightenment), a cancer foundation based in Lagos, Nigeria for aiding her survival.
Adedoyin: The advocate who fell prey
With Nigeria’s national health insurance scheme not covering cancer treatment, it is not surprising that many have lost their lives due to inability to access quality health care owing to paucity of funds.
One of the breast cancer casualties recorded last year was Mrs Mary Adedoyin, an advocate. In her tribute to late Adedoyin, Mrs Betty Anyanwu-Akeredolu, founder and president of the Breast Cancer Association of Nigeria (BRECAN), described her as a dependable ally in the fight against breast cancer in Nigeria.
“In this environment where most people hide their diseases, she (Mary) came out and was ready to use her experience to encourage others in similar situation. She was my kind of person and we connected the very day she sought my assistance in setting up her foundation.
“It’s a very big loss to breast cancer advocacy in Nigeria! We are so few in this fight in Nigeria as many survivors have failed to overcome imaginary stigmatisation,” the incoming first lady of Ondo State mournfully recalled.
Adeoti: Cancer breaks boundaries
Mrs Shola Adeoti, daughter of billionaire industrialist Chief Samuel Adedoyin, had to pass through unbearable pain and agony when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Hers is a story which will not leave the consciousness of Nigerians in a hurry.
“As a health-conscious woman with children, I didn’t think I was the typical cancer patient. The truth was the cancer I had was peculiar, it came as tiny dots instead of a lump and it could not be felt during self-examination. Although the mammography machine can detect it, it is still a tricky kind of cancer.
“At a point in time, my family and I found ourselves in a quandary of financial difficulty. It was sad and very painful. It was tough. I couldn’t pay my bills, but God raised people to come to my aid. I may have been born into wealth and affluence, but I paved my own path. I have always been independent. I am the only child of my late mother, and I wasn’t dependent on my father. It was difficult for me to ask for help from my family, but God raised an army to meet my needs,” she reportedly stated in an interview granted to a lifestyle magazine.
Adeoti has been using her story to encourage others through the MariaSam Foundation, an NGO she started in 2007 which has provided mammograms and raised awareness on cancer.
Anozie: Coping with Hope
It is the first meeting of the year and the atmosphere is charged with excitement. As the women trickled in, they shared warm embrace and complemented each other’s appearance. Going up to the podium, Mrs Ebun Anozie, the CEO of the COPE, set the ball rolling with a prayer and songs of praise. Few minutes later, the atmosphere took a sober mood when she ordered the gathering to observe 30 seconds silence in honour of five survivors who lost their lives to breast cancer in 2016.
Herself a breast cancer survivor, Anozie would disclose in a chat with The Nation that some of the women who died resorted to using herbs since they could no longer afford the cost of medication.
“The youngest of them, a twenty eight-year-old whom we tried to help died because it was too late and the cancer had spread to other parts of her body. She was just going through palliatives,” she sorrowfully recalled.
Confirming that the humongous cost of treating cancer in Nigeria has pushed many women into the death train, she asserted that COPE has placed breast cancer survivors on a monthly stipend of N10,000 to help with their treatment. However, this little lifeline, she further stated, stands threatened with the current economic recession which has made not-for-profit organizations experience a phenomenon best described as “charity fatigue”.
“We are appealing to good-hearted Nigerians to help us out. We are a transparent organisation and we have been doing this for 22 years. We just want to help Nigerians who are indignant. Cancer is not something that you wish for an enemy”, Mrs Anozie pleaded.
During the course of the meeting which lasted few hours, the women took time to deliberate on the activities ranging from aerobics, dance, swimming, comedy and seminar sessions with a dietician, psychologist, and a chef.
The women meet once in a month at COPE’s office in Lagos and they are paired with accountability partners who deliver feedback to Anozie.
COPE also helped with giving the women wigs, prosthetic bras and beauty items free of charge. To Anozie, she asserted that beauty has a lot to with breast cancer, hence the need for breast cancer survivors to always turn out gaily dressed. At the meeting the reporter witnessed; wigs, head scarves and turbans were gifted to attendees, courtesy of the Norwegian Cancer Society. A partner from England also helped with donation of different bra sizes and make-up items.
“You can imagine having two breasts and losing one, it is demoralising. We try as much as possible to make sure these women regain their confidence. We are also telling them not to wear their problem on their faces,” Anozie explains.
With experience gained in advocacy over the course of 22 years, Anozie charged the Nigerian government to implement health policies that will mandate the 36 state governors to build a comprehensive cancer care centre in each state of the federation. She expressed dissatisfaction that women had to go as far as Ghana for treatment, since many of the machines in public health institutions in Nigeria have gone comatose.
The cost of treating cancer in Nigeria
Before the Nigerian economy began a downward spiral into recession, cancer has been regarded as a ‘rich man’s disease. The current economic recession has led to an increase in the prices of goods and commodities, including the cost of drugs and medical care.
Findings revealed that a woman is likely to spend N70, 000 on breast scan, mammogram, biopsy and other related tests. Average surgery cost in public health institution is pegged at N80, 000 to N150, 000. Also, chemotherapy ranges from N100, 000 to N500, 000.
There is no doubting the fact that the high cost of treatment has occasioned the death of many women, especially the poor from cancer.
Dr Femi Olaleye, the founder of Optimal Care Cancer Foundation, said emphasis should be laid on prevention, in order to avoid more death.
“If 60 to 70 percent of Nigerians live below the poverty line and the diagnosis of breast cancer involves millions of naira for treatment, then it is predictable that many will die from the inability to access health care. A mammogram is about N15, 000 and the minimum wage in Nigeria is N18, 000, so can you just extrapolate how many Nigerian women will never ever get the chance to do a mammogram? We don’t even have enough centres to take care of them. Some of them will have to travel abroad and this runs into thousands of dollars. How many Nigerians can afford that with the scarcity of forex?”
Dr Olaleye, who disclosed that about 100 women turn up at his clinic for free screening on Fridays, lamented that clinics where women can get free screenings is not available throughout the country.
“ Since prevention is better and cheaper than cure, somebody should be coming to ask me, why can’t you scale this up?”, the doctor asked, confirming the obvious fact that there would always be a limitation to accessibility of health care for many Nigerian women if breast cancer is not detected early enough.
It is no longer news that breast cancer is on the increase in developing countries where majority of the cases are diagnosed in late stages. According to the World Health Organisation(WHO); the low survival rates in less developed countries can be explained by lack of early detection programmes resulting in high proportion of women presenting with late stage diseases, as well as by lack of adequate diagnosis and treatment facilities.
In a report published by the Population-based Cancer Registries of Nigeria, 100 000 new cases of cancer occur every year. It was also said that Nigeria contributed 15% to the estimated 681,000 new cases of cancer that occurred in Africa in 2008.
With the global deadline for breast cancer set at 2020, there are indications that Nigeria may yet again fail in meeting a target that can enhance better health for more women.
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