In a bid to reduce the ignorance around Cancer diseases among Nigerians, Heritage For Women and Youth Empowerment Initiative (HEFWAYE) on Friday 25th November 2022 organized a Cancer Seminar tagged: ” CANCER: What you need to know, Staying Alive and How to Beat It”.
The event which was held at Tomaville Events Center, Penthouse Estate- Piccassa, Lugbe Abuja had representatives from the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs, Health and Humanitarian Affairs, and Disaster Management.
Speaking, Pst. Mrs. Tope Omage (Visioner and Convener of HEFWAYE) a thoroughbred professional who retired as the first-ever female Director of Finance at the Central Bank of Nigeria and doubles as CEO of Tomag Consulting., noted that a lot of people especially women are struggling with the scourge of cancer and that with proper awareness and treatment, cancer is treatable.
In the same vein, she stated that she started HEFWAYE to get Nigerians informed about how to prevent, live with, and how to cure cancer and enjoy life to the fullest. She added that though HEFWAYE is not big on overheads they have carried out impactful projects across communities in Nigeria.
Some of such projects include the building of blocks of Classrooms, empowerment of women, disbursement of grants to entrepreneurs, paying school fees, and helping the less privileged to learn skills they can monetize. She reiterated that the NGO needs financial support from well meaning Nigerians, Volunteers, and gifts from corporate organizations.
Other Speakers at the seminar include Pharm. Bola Imana Abumere (Former Registrar Pharmacy Council of Nigeria), Dr. Jimeta Tuko (Consultant Radiation and Clinical Oncologist), Dr. Hadiza Shehu Idris (From The Federal Ministry of Health), Dr. Nnedinma Iwueke (From the Teroka Wellness Foundation), and Machi Florence (From the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs & Disaster Management).
The event which was also streamed live on Zoom also had medical practitioners who carried out Free Medical screening on HIV, Hepatitis B, and Blood Pressure for participants present.
At the end of the sensitization program, the conclusion was that everyone needs to watch what they eat, drink, and their lifestyle, and though cancer drugs are not over-the-counter drugs and must be prescribed by a doctor, Cancer itself is treatable and not a death sentence.
You can watch a special documentary video about the event on the link below-