A cancer expert says the dearth of cancer management centres in Nigeria is chiefly responsible for medical tourism, causing loss of top dollars that should be invested locally and heightening the prevalence of the dreaded disease in Nigeria.

Abia Nzelu, a consultant ocular oncologist, said the situation can be salvaged if government, Nigerians and philanthropic bodies commit to providing world class infrastructure for cancer research and treatment.

She said that the disease had affected the Nigerian population, with breast cancer being the highest prevalence.

The consultant oncologist said there was a lack of a functional Comprehensive Cancer Centre (CCC) in the country, where cancer cases could be fully treated.

Ms. Nzelu, quoting the World Health Organisation (WHO) data, said there would be a 60 percent increase in cancer cases over the next two decades globally.

She said the greatest increase (an estimated 81 percent) in new cases, would occur in developing countries like Nigeria.

”This disproportionate increase is largely because the health services of the developing countries are not equipped to prevent, diagnose and treat cancers.

“The optimal infrastructure needed for cancer treatment in Nigeria is a CCC.

“A CCC is a world-class, stand-alone tertiary health institution, with all its departments focussed on cancer care,” she said.

Ms. Nzelu noted that whilst India has over 200 CCC, Nigeria has none. She said that is why Nigerians, who can afford it, resort to travelling abroad for treatment.

“This situation results in a colossal drain of Nigeria’s foreign reserve with an estimated one billion dollars being spent on foreign treatment annually,” the expert lamented. “Ironically, with this amount, we can establish 20 CCC every year in Nigeria, yet we don’t have one.”

”The recent COVID-19 related global lockdown has shown that medical tourism may not always be available, even if one can afford it,” the expert added.

Ms. Nzelu, therefore, advised governments, organisations, philanthropists and well-meaning Nigerians to prioritise the management of cancer disease in the country.

“Largely, due to philanthropic efforts, the U.S. now has over 1,500 Comprehensive Cancer Centres (CCC).

“The first CCC in the U.S. is the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre (MSKCC), New York. It was founded in 1884 by philanthropists.

“Similarly, the first children cancer centre in the U.S. (St Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Tennessee, U.S), was philanthropy driven.

“This hospital costs over 1.4 billion dollars to run annually, but no patient is charged anything, because the entire cost is covered by donations.

“If one in seven Nigerians donates only N1,000 each to the GivingTide International, the first CCC in Nigeria will be fully ready within a year,” she said.

(NAN)