It was not a first attempt, but Skye Bank has dealt breast cancer a major blow. Recently, the bank donated two ultra modern screening machines to Care Organisation and Public Enlightenment, COPE, a non-governmental organisation located in Adeniyi Jones, Lagos.
Handing over the screening machines to Ebun Anozie, national coordinator, COPE, Kehinde Durosinmi-Etti, group managing director/chief executive officer, said Skye Bank is committed to reducing breast cancer mortality. “We are donating the screening machines because we value life at Skye Bank. Breast cancer is treatable if it is detected early and we want women to come here for free screening,” he said.
Breast cancer is the leading cause of death for women all over the world. In Nigeria, the National Institute of Cancer Registries shows that breast cancer accounts for more than 40 per cent of all types of cancer in Nigerian women. According to the World Health Organisation, WHO, one in eight women would be diagnosed with breast cancer in a lifetime. The risk factors include getting older, having a family history and personal history of the disease. Some research outcomes have also indicated that girls who started their menstrual period before age 12 and not having children or the first child after age 30 increases the risk of breast cancer.
Though COPE has been providing breast cancer screening to individuals and corporate organisations, it has been mainly through the manual breast self-examination, BSE. “Now we have an ultra modern machine that is more effective in diagnosing breast cancer. It is painless and without radiation. There is no reason why women in Lagos should not take advantage of this opportunity,” Anozie said.
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