By Diana Omueza
No fewer than 500 women and children have benefitted from a one-day free cancer screening organised by the Silver Cross Hospital, Abuja.
The outreach which was done in collaboration with Federal Medical Center Jabi, Trustus Christos and Okapi Foundation, took place at Gwarimpa Village, a community in the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC).
The medical outreach tagged “Equal Access to Care” was organised to commemorate the 2024 International Childhood Cancer Day.
Dr Patrick Ezie, Chief Medical Director, Silver Cross Hospital, Abuja, said the outreach aims to generate awareness and support children and women suffering from one form of cancer.
Ezie said that there has been insignificant awareness about childhood cancer which has continued to kill children silently.
According to him, the hospital in collaboration with it’s partners decided to make an impact by reaching out to the most vulnerable groups in the community who could not afford the cost of cancer screening.
“Research has found that yearly, more than 300,000 children worldwide receive a cancer diagnosis, most of which are from low-income homes, who cannot afford treatment.
“This is what prompted us to carry out this screening as most people are not aware of cancers that affect children, though from our interactions with them, they are aware of cancers that affect women and men.
“We will also be offering referrals to our partner hospitals to anyone who would be diagnosed with the cancer today.
“Just like the theme of this year’s commemoration is, we want to ensure that everyone, irrespective of their social class, has equal access to care,” he said.
