Health
FG urges early cancer detection, says delayed diagnosis complicates treatment
The federal government has underscored the importance of early cancer detection, saying the stage at which the disease is diagnosed determines the treatment approach and chances of cure.
Uchechukwu Nwokwu, National Coordinator, National Cancer Control Plan (NCCP), Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Abuja.
Mr Nwokwu also explained how cancer progresses through four stages, adding that it is not a single disease but a group of diseases that could affect different organs and behave differently depending on the type of cancer and the cells from which it originated.
According to him, cancer begins when abnormal cells develop within a particular organ or body system, with the extent of spread determining its stage.
He said Stage One cancer referred to a disease that remained within the area where it originated and had not spread beyond that location.
“When the cancer may arise from a small cell inside the organ of a particular system of the body, and as long as it is within the area it originated, it is an early stage, stage one,” he said.
Mr Nwokwu said Stage Two occurs when the cancer has moved beyond its original area but remains confined within the affected organ.
He explained that Stage Three is when the disease has grown beyond the affected organ but remains within the same body system or surrounding region.
“For example, if a breast cancer is growing beyond the breast and affects the chest wall, which is hosting the breast, that’s Stage Three,” he said.
The coordinator said Stage Four is the most advanced stage, occurring when the cancer has spread from the original organ to other systems or distant parts of the body.
He said such a spread is known as metastasis.
“So when it leaves the whole of where it’s growing, it’s a different system, we call it metastasis. That’s stage four,” he said.
Mr Nwokwu explained that breast cancer, for instance, could spread to the brain, bones, liver or lungs, with tests showing that a tumour in those locations originated from the breast.
He said Stage Four cancer is particularly difficult to manage because treatment is no longer focused solely on the original organ.
“So that means you can see breast cancer affecting some in the brain. You can see a tumour in the brain that’s actually from the breast,” he said.
Mr Nwokwu said the stage at which cancer is detected has significant implications for treatment and the possibility of achieving a cure.
He explained that some stage one cancers could potentially be cured through surgery alone because the disease remained confined to its site of origin.
“If you have somebody who has a breast cancer in stage one, like I said, it’s still within where it started from,” he said.
“You might just cut off that place and do a surgery that can just take a small part of the normal tissue where it has not affected, and with that surgery alone, the person is completely cured of that cancer.”
According to him, surgery can also be effective for some stage two cancers because the disease remains confined to the organ.
He said stage two and stage three cancers could, however, require combinations of treatment, including surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy.
Mr Nwokwu explained that doctors could also use what is known as neoadjuvant or adjuvant therapy alongside surgery, depending on the patient’s condition.
He said targeted therapy is another treatment option for cancers driven by particular hormones or biological mechanisms.
The coordinator cited prostate cancer as an example, explaining that some patients could undergo removal of the testes to reduce testosterone, a hormone that could stimulate the growth of prostate cancer.
He, however, noted that some advanced prostate cancers could become resistant to this approach, a condition known as castration-resistant prostate cancer, requiring other medicines to control disease progression.
Mr Nwokwu said treatment of stage four cancer is more complex because the disease could involve several parts of the body.
He explained that chemotherapy could be useful in some circumstances because it is a systemic treatment that can reach cancer cells throughout the body.
He, however, said that radiotherapy had to be applied more selectively depending on where the cancer had spread and the patient’s overall condition.
READ ALSO: Health minister seeks increased investment in radiopharmaceutical cancer therapy
Mr Nwokwu emphasised that the differences in treatment across the stages reinforced the importance of detecting cancer early, before it spreads beyond the organ where it originated.
He said early diagnosis allowed doctors to determine the stage of the disease and select the most appropriate combination of treatment modalities.
The coordinator also emphasised that cancer treatment should be individualised because cancers affecting the same organ could behave differently depending on their biological characteristics.
He urged Nigerians to seek medical attention promptly when they notice unusual symptoms and to follow appropriate screening and diagnostic recommendations to improve the chances of detecting cancer at an early stage.
(NAN)
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A total of 10,494 Nigerians are listed among staff in the United Kingdom’s National Health Service (NHS), according to data shared by NHS Million, a UK campaign organisation focused on NHS staff.
Nigeria ranked sixth overall on the list, behind the UK/British, India, the Philippines, Ireland and Poland, making Nigeria the largest African nationality represented in the breakdown.
The data shared by NHS Million showed that more than 1.1 million NHS workers identified as British or UK nationals, while Indians accounted for 32,117 staff and Filipinos 25,423.
It also showed that Zimbabwe had the second-highest number of African nationals working in the NHS, with 4,780, followed by Ghana with 3,395, Egypt with 2,895 and South Africa with 1,829.
The figures highlight the significant contribution of Nigerian professionals to the UK health system, but also come amid persistent concerns over the shortage of health workers in the country.
Nigeria loses thousands of health workers
The 2025 State of Health of the Nation Report, released by the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, showed that over 20,000 Nigerian health workers relocated abroad within one year.
The figure included 3,919 doctors, 7,487 nurses and midwives, 6,861 medical laboratory professionals, 702 pharmacists, 658 physiotherapists and 274 dentists, among other health professionals. The report also showed that Nigeria has 95,456 registered doctors, but only 60,551 currently hold active practising licences.
The workforce shortage is further worsened by the uneven distribution of health professionals across the country, with several northern states recording particularly low doctor densities.
UK remains major destination
The United Kingdom is one of the major destinations for Nigerian health professionals.
Data from the UK’s General Medical Council showed that 4,691 Nigerian-trained doctors joined the UK medical register between May 2023 and April 2026, according to a Punch report.
The data also showed that 15,896 Nigerian-trained doctors were licensed to practise in the UK.
READ ALSO: PT Health Watch: How laboratory tests can help detect colorectal cancer early – Expert
The 2025 State of Health of the Nation Report identified external migration as one of the factors affecting the availability of health professionals in Nigeria.
Migration policy yet to be fully implemented
The federal government has introduced several measures aimed at increasing the health workforce and addressing migration.
Nigeria also approved a National Policy on Health Workforce Migration in August 2024, aimed at managing health worker migration, improving retention and strengthening workforce planning.
However, the 2025 State of Health of the Nation Report said that although the implementation plan had been finalised, full implementation had not commenced.
The report said an additional 23,000 frontline health workers were trained in 2025, bringing the number trained between 2024 and 2025 to 78,146, or about 65 per cent of the national target of 120,000.
The policy is intended to improve working conditions, support career progression and establish a more coordinated approach to health worker migration and retention.
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Colorectal cancer, which affects the colon and rectum, is one of the most common cancers globally, yet it can remain unnoticed for a long time because some people have no symptoms in the early stages.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that 1.9 million new cases of colorectal cancer and more than 900,000 deaths occurred globally in 2022.
The agency said symptoms, when they occur, may include blood in the stool, persistent changes in bowel habits, abdominal pain, unexplained weight loss and fatigue.
Because some people may not notice any warning signs, screening can provide an opportunity to identify possible abnormalities before the disease becomes advanced.
What happens before a diagnosis is confirmed?
Laboratory investigations are an important part of that process, as medical laboratory scientists examine samples that can provide clues about what is happening in a patient’s body.
Speaking with PT HEALTH WATCH, Adedoye David, a medical laboratory scientist, said laboratory testing contributes to the investigation of colorectal cancer through the examination of biological samples, including stool, blood and tissue.
One of the investigations is the Faecal Occult Blood Test (FOBT), which detects blood in stool that may not be visible to the naked eye.
Another is the Faecal Immunochemical Test (FIT), which uses antibodies to detect human haemoglobin in stool.
These tests can help identify people who may require further assessment, but Mr David stressed that detecting blood in stool is not the same as diagnosing cancer.
“Stool-based tests are very important for detecting hidden blood in stool. It could be reliable if the test investigation is carried out using the right and standard operating procedures.
“But as much as it can be reliable in detecting hidden blood, it might not be totally reliable in the diagnosis of colorectal cancer,”he said.
Where further investigation is necessary, Mr David said a patient may be referred for procedures such as colonoscopy, during which abnormal areas can be identified and tissue samples taken for laboratory examination.
A biopsy can then help determine whether the abnormal tissue is cancerous.
Why symptoms should not be ignored
The distinction between screening and diagnosis is important because colorectal cancer does not always announce itself with obvious symptoms.
A person who feels healthy may therefore not consider testing necessary, while another may receive a negative stool test and conclude that further medical attention is unnecessary.
Mr David said both assumptions could be misleading.
He urged people to seek medical advice when they experience persistent symptoms rather than waiting for them to become severe.
He also advised people with a family history of colorectal cancer or long-term inflammatory bowel disease to discuss their risk with healthcare professionals and determine whether they require earlier or more frequent screening.
WHO identifies family history of colorectal cancer and certain inflammatory bowel diseases among factors that can increase a person’s risk of developing the disease.
Although colorectal cancer is more common with increasing age, it is not exclusively a disease of older people. WHO has also reported a rising incidence among younger adults in several countries.
Screening is only useful when people can complete it
The challenge, however, is not simply persuading people to undergo screening. The health system must also be able to support them when a test produces an abnormal result.
Evidence from Nigeria illustrates this point.
A Nigerian community-based study involving more than 2,000 adults found that FIT screening was feasible. However, the researchers also highlighted challenges with follow-up colonoscopy after positive results.
This means that detecting a possible problem is only one part of the process. Patients must be able to access the additional investigations required to establish what the abnormal result means and, where necessary, begin treatment.
Mr David identified limited facilities capable of carrying out some key investigations and the cost of available services as major challenges facing colorectal cancer testing in Nigeria.
For people who may already be hesitant about testing, the cost and availability of diagnostic services can make early detection even more difficult.
READ ALSO: Hot tea, coffee linked to higher risk of oesophageal cancer — Study
Mr David also urged Nigerians to overcome the embarrassment that may come with providing stool samples for laboratory examination.
“There is nothing to be ashamed of producing a stool sample. It is just like any other medical sample and it is needed for us to carry out informed diagnosis,” he said.
Ultimately, a stool test is not a verdict on whether a person has cancer. Rather, it can be one step in a process that helps health professionals decide who may need further investigation.
For Mr David, improving colorectal cancer outcomes therefore requires both public awareness and access to appropriate laboratory and diagnostic services, so that people can seek help early and abnormal findings can be properly investigated.
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