Cancer patients paying with their blood in Nigeria

BY RUNCIE C.W. CHIDIEBE

I am always a fighter for the weak and a voice for the voiceless. I want you all to join me. Cancer may have hit someone that you know, your dad, your mum, friend, sister or brother, who knows the next person.

Yesterday, I went to National Hospital Abuja for an LOC meeting and after the meeting, I went straight to oncology ward to see a senior friend, who is an oncologist. After the meeting the senior friend, on my way out, Kelechi Glory Obioma, a student nurse called me to greet a cervical cancer patient.

As a psychologist, I quickly engaged her; I tried everything possible to get this amazing woman to receive a dose of psychotherapy (psychological support, trying to make her smile). It didn’t work. She was in pain! She has been bleeding for months. She has been taking chemotherapy! She has been off and on the oncology ward.

She needs radiotherapy. She needs radiotherapy. She needs radiotherapy.

She was booked for radiotherapy at National Hospital Abuja; she was on the machine when the radiotherapy machine broke down. She later travelled to Ahmadu Bello Teaching Hospital, Zaria for radiotherapy. On arrival the machine broke down. They told her that they would call her when the machine is back.

Few weeks later, the machine was fixed. Off course, she planned to travel back to Zaria, unfortunately, she needed to wait for another extra 12weeks before it gets to her turn. Why? Several cancer patients are already waiting for the same machine. Some of the cancer patients came from Port-Harcourt, Maiduguri, Talata Mafara in Zamfara atate, Oba in Anambra state, Kwara and otherwise.

As at today August 18, 2017. There is only one/two or no single radiotherapy machine that is owned by Nigerian government that is working. The only machine that is working is privately owned in Lagos. The very old Eko Hospital. Well, thanks to EKO Hospital. I have seen so many cancer patients with their millions of naira to receive care, but the cancer treatment machines are down. Oh God. What have cancer patients done wrong?

Nigerians who present cancer of any form are clearly on their own. Why? Our government does not care. They are not interested in you. They can afford the care abroad. This is the rational for over 70% of Nigerians living with cancer die in less than 5 years (in my estimation). Currently, I work with over 28 breast cancer patients and survivors. In the last one month, I have lost one. Calculate…. This.

It is a shame that we cannot fix a core oncology care. Any top politician who gets some headache, he or she get on a British Airways to London or get on Lufthansa to United States. They don’t go to India; India is for the boys and girls. There is an urgent need to fix medical infrastructures in Nigeria if we desire to save lives and our economy. Investing in healthcare is the greatest business.

Only healthy people can work in other sectors. For instance, in 2013 alone, India granted medical visas to 40,000 patients and medical dependents in Nigeria. As a nation, Nigeria is loosing millions of dollars and national reputation to medical tourism. Nigerians are now traveling to Ghana for radiotherapy treatment. Do you know that the radiotherapy machine in Ghana and many other African countries were set-up by Nigerian radiation oncologists? Well, Ghana is now the new India, Ghana is now the destination for medical tourism.

Few months ago, it takes three to seven days to get a medical visa to India. Today, it takes three – four weeks and sometimes, a rejection. Where is the hope? We live in a country where millions of dollars is stolen and recovered. Can we use the recovered money to fix cancer treatment machine? Fix Nigeria’s medical infrastructures. It is only healthy people that can build a better economy, it is only healthy people that can secure Nigeria and otherwise. WHO IARC recommended one radiotherapy machine for 1,000,000 people, invariably; we need 200 machines for a population of over 180 million. Currently, we have only 7 centres. The entire seven centres are not working properly. 1-2 centres work a week on and months off.

Every year Nigerian doctors are leaving Nigeria, because of the frustration in the healthcare sector. We cannot grow any sector, if we don’t grow the healthcare sector. A farmer cannot farm if he is ill, an engineer cannot fix power if he is ill and there is not doctor or machine to treat him or her. Almost all the cancer survivors that I know received their treatment abroad.

My message is simple.

Federal and state government of Nigeria should make cancer control a national health priority. For a country of over 160 million to be having just one/two (or no) single radiotherapy machine is the worst form of health injustice and inhuman act. If truly health is a human right. Then, let’s give cancer patients the right to survive.

Chidiebe, a cancer control advocate, tweets @runciecwc