Lagos screens women for breast, cervical cancer
The Lagos State Government yesterday said it has screened 53,762 women for cervical and breast cancer in a free programme that began last year.
The Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Health, Dr Olusegun Ogboye, disclosed this during a workshop held in collaboration with United Nations Population Fund, UNFPA, for 200 state healthcare workers drawn from 60 health facilities in the state.
The Permanent Secretary, who was represented by the Head of Directorate, Disease Control, Dr. Agbolagorite Olurotimi, said: “In January 2021, Lagos State government, with the support of Clinton Health Access Initiative, CHAI, commenced the provision of free breast and cervical cancer screening services in 60 state health facilities.
“Currently, the ministry’s efforts to make cancer screening services more accessible and readily available in all state health facilities, has been further strengthened by the recent support from one of the state’s development partners, UNFPA.
“53,762 women have been screened since inception, of which a total of 2,635, representing 4.9 per cent of women screened, were screened positive for cervical precancerous lesions and 2,348 (89 per cent) of these positively screened women were treated with thermal ablation and saved from possibly developing cervical cancer in the future.”
