Oluwatamilore Olowe 
…cancer registry crucial for better health outcomes – Omonisi
As Nigeria joined the rest of the global community to mark Childhood Cancer Awareness Month (CCAM), Founder/ Executive Director of Children Living With Cancer Foundation (CLWCF). Dr. Nneka Nwobbi has highlighted that the three major challenges children with cancer and their families face are emotional trauma, financial burdens, and medical issues.
In spite of disseminating this update necessitated by the need to deepen awareness on the burden of childhood cancers, many Nigerians are ignorant that children are also impacted by this disease. According to Nwobbi, the passionate advocate for pediatric cancer awareness, the CLWCF has stepped in to ease these burdens.
“We offer counseling to both the children and their families,” Dr. Nwobbi said. “We also provide free chemotherapy drugs to reduce the financial burden and offer vocational training to parents so they can earn an income while caring for their sick children.” Childhood cancer is the term used to describe cancers that occur between birth and 14 years of age.
Pediatric cancers are very rare and may differ from adult cancers in the way they grow and spread, how they are treated, and how they respond to treatment. Nwobbi spoke extensively about her organisation’s efforts to support children facing this life-threatening condition during the September CCAM— a time of year individuals and organisations honor children and survivors affected by paediatric cancer in order to raise awareness and continue the research and treatment of the disease.
Part of activities implemented to celebrate the September CCAM in Nigeria included several media outreaches, lectures where experts highlighted the need for childhood cancer registry, and a walk during which some communities around the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) in Idiaraba and Abuja were educated about paediatric cancers. As part of the ongoing awareness campaign, the CLWCF also hosted its second inaugural lecture on September 26.
The lecture, titled ‘Hope in Numbers,’ focused on the importance of childhood cancer registries and was delivered by Abidemi Emmanuel Omonisi, Founder and Pioneer Director of the Ekiti Cancer Registry. In Nigeria, cancer registration started with the establishment of the Ibadan cancer registry in 1960. Currently, there are 33 cancer registries (13 population-based and 20 hospital-based) coordinated centrally by the Nigerian National System of Cancer Registries (NSCR).
In his lecture, Omonisi outlined the significant role that data from childhood cancer registries plays in addressing the issue. “Data helps facilitate advocacy and promote cancer surveillance, as well as provide a platform for epidemiological and clinical research,” Omonisi said.
He added that such registries are crucial for healthcare planning, programme implementation, and even attracting international collaborations and funding from organisations like the World Health Organisation (WHO) and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in the United States.
Data helps facilitate advocacy and promote cancer surveillance
In his conclusion, Dr. Abidemi emphasised the need for the establishment of more childhood cancer registries across Nigeria. He stated that consultancy visits and training are essential to the successful growth of these registries. However, he also pointed out two major challenges hindering their expansion: the lack of adequate fund ing and the shortage of trained technical staff.
These issues, if addressed, could significantly enhance population-based cancer registries and contribute to better health outcomes for children with cancer. Nwobbi also shared an inspiring success story of a young girl from Abuja diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a type of bone cancer.
With the support from CLWCF, the girl had her leg amputated, which was necessary to halt the cancer’s progression. Before the surgery, the child met a counselor from the foundation who was herself a survivor of osteosarcoma. “The counselor was diagnosed with osteosarcoma at the same age, 12, and her story gave the young girl hope,” Dr. Nwobbi said.
The executive director of CLWCF also acknowledged Lions Club for covering the cost of a prosthetic limb that adjusts as the child grows. A key message during one of the media outreaches by the CLWCF was the importance of early detection of cancer in children. Dr. Nwobbi emphasised that CLWCF is working tirelessly to spread awareness about childhood cancer.
The foundation recently organised a walkathon, a sponsored walk held in both Lagos and Abuja on Saturday, September 28. Participants were encouraged to contribute to the care of childhood cancers by paying for every kilometer walked. In Lagos, the walk started at LUTH while participant proceeded to the National Stadium before returning to LUTH. This marked the sixth year of the walkathon, an annual event aimed at raising awareness about pediatric cancer.
