Lagoon Hospital Raises Awareness on Breast Cancer

Martins Ifijeh

As part of plans to raise awareness on the rising incidence of breast cancer in Nigeria, Lagoon Hospitals, one of the country’s leading healthcare facility, recently conducted a breast cancer walk in Lagos to commemorate the International Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Nigerian women die of ‎breast cancer due to lack of access to accurate information, affordable screening, and treatment options.

Breast cancer is currently one of the leading causes of death among women and late detection is a major factor.

Every year, the month of October is used for breast cancer awareness‎ to support women battling with breast cancer. Women are also educated and advised on early detection with free cancer screening done for all women
The 6.8km walk held last weekend started and ended at the Lagoon Hospitals Ikoyi facility.

After the Walk, a medical outreach was conducted with a short talk on breast cancer and the essence of early detection by the Clinical Director, Lagoon Hospitals, Dr. Ajibike Oyewumi.

Participants had the opportunity to examine breast moulds, and free breast cancer screenings were conducted for the women participants.

The Chief Executive Officer of Lagoon Hospitals, Mr. Rajeev Bhandari, said: “We are delighted to hold such an event in honour of the breast cancer awareness month and to create awareness about the disease.

“Early detection is key, and as the leading healthcare service provider in Nigeria, we take it as our duty to educate the public, while also encouraging people to get screened.”

The Head of Business Development, Lagoon Hospitals, Mr. Franklyn Ovbigbahon, said the walk was a powerful and inspiring opportunity to unite with the community to educate and raise awareness in a fun but intentional way.

He said: “We understand breast cancer screenings can be costly and we felt the free breast cancer screenings conducted after the walk, would be a great way to make the screening more inclusive and accessible.

“Whatever your age it’s so important to get to know your breasts, and if you do spot anything unusual – be it a lump or redness – it is important to get it checked out by a doctor immediately. Currently, to make the service even more accessible, we have a 50 per cent discount on our Mammogram and Breast Scan services running till the end of November.”

He said Lagoon Hospitals has successfully pioneered ground-breaking medical achievements, most recently with a free surgery provided for a young boy with subdural empyema as part of its CSR activities.