Northerners’ cancer fight: Raising awareness and dismissing myths

Health practitioners from the northern regions have united on a mission to raise awareness about cancer. They said given that people know so little about cancer, as healthcare workers, they should be talking about the disease all the time, all year round, and not just in February when World Cancer Day is commemorated.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and doctors and nurses from Onandjokwe State Hospital, Ondangwa Private Hospital, Ongwediva Medipark as well as Oshakati State Hospital hosted a cancer walk/run last week to raise awareness on breast, prostate and cervical cancer.

Onandjokwe State Hospital held an information-sharing session on Friday to inform the public about its breast cancer clinic, which opened in April this year, and held a commemoration walk on Saturday.



More awareness

Speaking to Namibian Sun, clinical oncologist Dr Mtabeni George Jemu said there is a problem in northern Namibia as breast cancer is detected late, which he attributed to lack of awareness.

“Patients do not have information that cancer is curable and if detected early, chances of survival are much higher. We need to take responsibility for the lack of awareness in the communities because we are the custodians of the information. If the knowledge we have does not reach the population, then it is essentially our fault,” he said.

He implored healthcare workers and every member of society to disseminate information and to tell people that breast cancer is curable if detected early.

“If detected late, you need to have chemotherapy, an operation or radiotherapy. Some of these services are not readily available and patients might succumb to the disease. Every woman must know their own bodies and do self-examinations at least once a month. And if you feel anything abnormal or unusual, seek help,” he stressed.



Stop the stigma

Jemu highlighted that there is a myth that breast cancer is un-African, as people always believed that this is a disease from the west.

“There’s a lot of connotation around what causes it. Some people think it has to do with witchcraft. There’s also a lot of stigma around the treatment. Majority of the time when breast cancer is detected late, we have to cut off the whole breast. And we know that the breast is a very integral part of a woman’s identity. It's not just a physical organ, it is also an organ that has a lot of emotions attached to it,” he said, adding that when a woman's breast is removed, it leads to a lot of stigma.

Jemu said as times have changed and treatment has progressed, there are options like plastic surgery, when a woman's breasts can be reconstructed. He, however, admitted that these services are not available to everyone due to the high costs involved.



Signs of breast cancer

Dr Shaaban Kaikai, a specialist surgeon at Ongwediva Medipark, said awareness of symptoms is vital as it will assist patients to seek timely medical advice.

He said some symptoms include, but are not limited to:

Lump in the breast: A noticeable lump or mass in the breast or underarm area, which may feel different from the surrounding area.

Changes in breast size or shape: Any significant change in the size or shape of one or both breasts.

Skin changes: Dimpling, puckering or thickening of the breast, or redness and warmth.

Nipple changes: Discharge from the nipple (other than breast milk), inverted nipple.

Leg or back pain: Unexplained persistent pain in the legs or lower back.

Kaikai added that not everyone with breast or cervical cancer will experience the same symptoms and some signs may be related to other conditions which are non-cancerous. He encouraged regular screening such as mammograms for breast cancer and pap smears for cervical cancer, even when the individual isn't experiencing any symptoms.