Lady Oak laments poor access to cancer care in Nigeria

By Gabriel Olawale

The President of Lady Oak, Christine Ewere Okubor has expressed concern over the huge gap in Nigeria’s healthcare delivery system, saying that a lot of people with cancer have no access to treatment.

Speaking during the N1.8 billion fund-raising launch for Lady Oak Cancer Care Centre, Agbor, Delta State, Okubor said after screening over 1,000 women for cervical cancer, they discovered that the majority of them did not have access to treatment.

“This brought to the fore the dire need for a facility such as the Lady Oak Cancer Care Centre, LOCCC, a holistic facility that will cater to the physical, psychological, and mental needs of cancer warriors.

“We at Lady Oak Club after our cancer awareness outreach in 2016, we approached the Delta State Government and they allocated a piece of land to us.”

Following successful fundraising, the foundation stone of the Lady Oak cancer care centre was laid by the First Lady of Delta State, Dame Edith Okowa, and within a space of 17 months, the physical building of LOCCC has been completed.

“We are poised to engage with the best manufacturers of medical equipment and secure for the centre, state-of-the-art diagnostic and imaging machine with the most advanced cutting-edge technology for screening, diagnosis and treatment of cancer. We hereby appeal to the general public to make our vision a reality.”

The keynote speaker at the Fundraising programme in Lagos, Founder, Marcelle Ruth Cancer Care & Specialist Hospital, Dr. Modupe Elebute-Odunsi noted, “Going through cancer treatment is a most daunting experience physically, emotionally, financially among others. LOCCC will help to increase access to cancer care by eliminating as many critical barriers as possible.”

across the country with a focus on female empowerment, community development, and healthy living. They need all our support, so let us support them with whatever we have. “