Cancer is real - let's stop it

Editor | Friday February 5, 2010 00:00

Although cancer has affected and claimed many lives in Botswana, for some reason, it is still  considered like any other ailment. But the truth is that cancer is with us and we need to stop and pay attention.

Many Batswana, particularly women, are affected by cancer and it is surprising how a lot of our womenfolk are still ignorant of the killer disease. As a society we need to do more to sensitise our people about cancer. The good news is that once we take precautions some forms of cancer can be prevented. In fact, most cases of cancer can be cured or managed if detected early.

Health officials always encourage women to come forward once they feel a little lump in their breasts or any part of the body for such could point to a serious problem. Various kinds of health tips, including publications, that encourage women to do routine health checks such as pap smears, seem to go unheeded. It is these little things that have lead to greater catastrophes including loss of lives which could have been averted if people had taken precautionary measures.

As the media we are duty bound to help health practitioners amplify this message until our people know where the pitfalls are and how to avoid them.

Cancer is not limited to cervical cancer or breasts or for that matter women; men too need to take greater responsibility in the cancer crusade.

Some types of cancer, we are advised, can be averted by merely changing our lifestyle such as eating the right foods and exercising regularly. Eating a lot of fatty foods, excessive drinking and smoking are some of the surest way of inviting cancer. In particular, smoke which has a residual effect could be devastating not only to the primary smoker, but also to those who share the environment with the smoker.

Passive smoking has been known to be equally dangerous and one can only encourage government and local government authorities to come up with stricter enforcement of existing legislation to protect people from cigarette smoke.

It is high time that restaurants and all the other public places were equipped with non-smoking zones. In fact, all effort should be made to reduce smoking in public places.

The figures released by the Ministry of Health about cancer are sobering. In the last 10 years  over 11, 000 people had cancer and about 3,000 died in that period. For a condition that to a great extent goes unreported this is scary. These numbers should set each one of us on the alert. We can avert this impending crisis before it is too late.

                                                               Today's thought

                                          'Once you choose hope, anything's possible.'                                                         - Christopher Reeve