Cancer is the leading cause of death and accounts for 7.5 million deaths worldwide, says Dr.Francis Nylander of the World Health Organisation in Sierra Leone.
He was speaking during a two-day symposium organized by Thinking Pink Foundation at the British Council Hall on Monday this week.
He went further to say that more than 70% of all cancer deaths occur in low-and middle-income countries, where resources available for prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer are limited or non-existent.
In the African region, cancer continues to grow and the most common cancers are cancers of the cervix, breast, liver and prostrate.
Speaking at the programme, Mrs. Cremelda Parkinson Pratt, who is the CEO of Thinking Pink Foundation and also the chairperson of the programme, said that she is overwhelmed with the turn out and told them that they will all learn from the expert in charge about cancer, its causes and how to treat it. She emphasized that early detection saves lives.
A medical practitioner, Reynold Senesie, who is also a cancer Biologist, did a presentation in which he spelled out what Cancer is and its causes. He also said that it is one of the killer diseases in the world and has become a global problem.
He said that according to WHO, there is going to be an estimated amount of 17 Million people who will be affected and asked how is Sierra Leone prepared?
He disclosed that lung cancer is a major problem compared to breast cancer.
Cancer is a disease of the cell, when one cell is damaged then it becomes a problem for the whole body.
In the presentation, he showed the audience that tobacco has about 29 chemicals and can likely cause cancer in the body.
Some of the risk factors of cancer are time of the first child, old age at Menopause, family history lack of child bearing, breast feeding, excessive tobacco use, unhealthy diet, lack of physical exercise and being overweight.
He concluded by saying that early detection and screening can save lives.
Also speaking at the programme, Madam Popoola from the Well Woman clinic also gave a presentation on the importance of Breast Cancer Awareness clinical and teaching on self Breast Examination. People were encouraged to do self breast examination at home and she also encouraged the men to go for screening, saying that cancer can also affect men as well.
A survivor of Breast cancer, Kadija Konneh, also gave her story at the programme, she detected it at an early stage and a surgery was done which saved her life.
She was encouraged by her parents and loved ones during that time she encouraged all to go for screening and if you observe any abnormality around your breast you should see a professional doctor for examination.
The audience was then divided into groups in order for their views to be heard.
By Nancy Koroma
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