Abuja hospital, Church organize free breast, cervical cancer screening

Silver Cross Hospital and St. Mary Catholic Church, Abuja, have organized a free breast and cervical cancer screening for no fewer than 200 people in the Guidna community, a suburb of Abuja.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the medical outreach also provided free blood pressure checks, glucose level checks, abdominal tumor checks, ultrasound scanning, and medical and surgical consultations, among others.

Dr. Patrick Ezie, Chief Medical Director of the hospital, said the outreach was organized as part of its charity work and to improve the health care of Nigerians, especially the poor.

"This intervention was developed by the hospital facility in collaboration with St. Mary Catholic Church to complement the government's efforts in the provision of qualitative healthcare."

"We realised that we were having a lot of women in the community present with breast cancer and abdominal tumors like fibroid, and sometimes they die of it because of a lack of awareness."

"We decided to look into our corporate social responsibility and see what we could do for the community of Guidna by ensuring that they had the knowledge they needed about these illnesses.

"We had to write to churches, mosques, and markets in the area so that they can come and benefit from the knowledge of experts and get themselves checked."

"This is because we want them to inculcate the habit of checking their health status regularly, as early detection always saves lives," he said.

Ezie added that women diagnosed with any sign of cancer would be referred to an appropriate gynecologist in the hospital facility for proper care.

Ms. Anita Egga, a beneficiary of the screening, appreciated the hospital and the church for the gesture, noting that it was important for everyone to make themselves available for regular screening.

I advise everyone to embark on regular screening to take advantage of opportunities such as this and get screened.

"As it is popularly said, prevention is better than cure," she warned.