Wife of the Ekiti State Governor, Erelu Bisi Fayemi, has urged Nigerian women to stop visiting herbalists and religious centres for diagnosis and treatment of breast and other gender-related cancers.
She spoke on Tuesday during the launch and distribution of 32,000 units of breast self-examination kits to officials of the 16 local government areas of the state at the Funmi Olayinka Diagnostic and Wellness Centre in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital.
The project, aimed at creating awareness on breast cancer, was a joint initiative of the Office of the Wife of Governor and the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria.
The governor’s wife emphasised the need for self examination of breasts by women for early detection of lumps and urged husbands to remind their wives of periodic check-ups.
She stressed that breast cancer could be easily treated when detected and presented early at a standard health institution, adding, “If you observe a lump in your breast, please don’t go to the nearest herbalist, don’t go to the nearest worship centre for a solution and don’t ignore it. Don’t carry your Bible and say ‘it is not my portion’.
“The amount we need to examine ourselves at any standard health facility like the Funmi Olayinka Diagnostic and Wellness Centre is negligible compared to the money we spend on ‘aso ebi’ during social engagements.
“For those of you that believe in the saying that what you don’t know cannot hurt you, I must tell you that what you don’t know can actually kill you.”
She pledged to partner ALGON on grass-roots diagnosis of breast, cervical and other gender-specific cancers, as well as lipid test at the Funmi Olayinka centre through her initiative, the Ekiti Development Foundation, in a bid to reduce cancer-induced deaths in the state.
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