Army wives wages war against cancer

By Kingsley Chukwuka

Army Officers wives under the aegis of Nigerian Army Officers Wives Association (NAOWA), 3 Division Chapter have said early detection and treatment of breast cancer is a recipe for waging war against the scourge.

NAOWA said to achieve this constant awareness amongst women should top the priority of all women groups, Non-governmental organizations as well as government agencies.

The Army wives stated this on Thursday, at the 3Division Cantonment Bassa near Jos, a day set aside to mark the 2022 World Cervical and Breast Cancer Day.

To drive the message home, NAOWA staged a health-walk and lecture to commemorate the day.

The walk was to enlighten the occupants of Maxwell Khobe Cantonment and its surrounding communities with the messages of preventing the spread of cancer, our correspondent reports.

Speaking at an event organised to sensitize women on the scourge, Chairperson, NAOWA 3 Division Chapter, Mrs Hauwa Ali, wife of the General Officer Commanding 3Division Nigerian Army and Commander Operation Safe Haven, lamented that the disease may have taken the lives of many for lack of knowledge about its early detection.

Mrs. Ali who was represented at the occasion was confident that the campaigns and awareness lecture will encourage the women to go for screening, adding that there was nothing to be afraid or ashamed of.

She noted that early detection of the disease would necessitate early treatment and consequently elongate the lifespan of women.

“Prevention and early detection of breast and cervical cancer could save the lives of millions of women who are unaware of the danger of this killer disease”, She said.

In her lecture, the guest speaker, Prof. Mrs Amaka Ocheke, a consultant with the Plateau State University Teaching Hospital Jos, urged the federal government to intensify effort by paying adequate attention to the complex nature of the disease with a view to eradicating the women.

Amaka revealed that cancer can be cured when detected early. She also urged the women to engage in regular breast and cervical checks to ensure early detection of abnormalities, unnatural growth or lumps in their breasts and other parts of the body.