Dora Akunyili ‘died of uterine cancer’

Former information minister Dora Akunyili died of uterine cancer, New York-based Sahara Reporters has reported, quoting family sources.

The former director-general of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), who died in India last Saturday, was described as “healthy” until 2011 when she unsuccessfully ran for senate.

A routine medical check in July 2013 led to the discovery of the cancer which had maligned.

“Her doctor in America did a hysterectomy and found out that she had a malignant endometrial cancer,” the source told Sahara Reporters. 

Until now, the specific form of cancer she suffered from had not been made public, with several speculations suggesting cervical and ovarian.

TheCable last Saturday reported that a cancer diagnosis had been made by Nigerian doctors in 1998 but a further check abroad ─ preparatory to surgery ─ gave her an all-clear.

It was only last year that cancer was discovered, even though she had been going for check-ups on a regular basis since the 1998 scare.

A source was quoted by Sahara Reporters as saying it was Nigerian doctors that actually made the misdiagnosis as doctors in the UK said Akunyili only had irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) instead of cancer.

However, in some cases which continue to confound medical science, IBS and uterine cancer could present similar symptoms, notably painful urination and pain in the pelvic area.

But uterine cancer is further identifiable through abnormal vaginal bleeding, spotting and pain during sex.

Significantly, while IBS symptoms can come and go from time to time, cancer is progressive and can steadily worsen over a long period of time before it is eventually discovered, at which stage it might have spread to other parts of the body.