Worried by the degree of ignorance amongst women on the deadly disease called breast and cervical cancer, the Nigerian Army Officers Wives Association (NAOWA) 3 Division Chapter has held an awareness health walk and lecture to commemorate the 2022 Breast and Cervical Cancer Day at Maxwell Khobe Cantonment Jos.
Acting Deputy Director Army Public Relations 3 Division, Major Ishaku Takwa made this known in a statement on Friday in Jos.
The Chairperson of NAOWA 3 Division Chapter, Mrs Hauwa Ali, who Mrs Hauwa Adamu represented, lamented that the disease may have taken the lives of many for lack of knowledge about its early detection.
She revealed that the campaigns and awareness lecture would encourage the women to go for screening, adding that there was nothing to be afraid of or ashamed about.
She noted that early detection of the disease would necessitate early treatment and consequently elongate the lifespan of our women. She further averred that 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.
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 efforts by paying adequate attention to the complex nature of the disease to eradicate it.
Prof Amaka revealed that cancer could be cured when detected early. She also urged the women to perform regular breast and cervical checks to ensure early detection of abnormalities, abnormal growth or lumps in their breasts and other body parts.
NAOWA, to mitigate the spread of the disease, took the battle against cancer to the streets to enlighten the occupants of Maxwell Khobe Cantonment and hit communities with the message of preventing the spread of cancer.
In attendance were the executive members of NAOWA 3 Division, spouses of soldiers and dependants of troops.
The event's highlight was the procession from NAOWA Skills Acquisition Center through Phase One to Phase two to Jebbu Market and back to Rhino Officers’ Mess for the lecture.
