Mrs Suswam leads Benue women on cancer awareness walk

By SundiataPOST, Abuja

Wife of the Benue Governor, Mrs Dooshima Suswam, on Thursday led more than 1,000 women on a Cancer Awareness Walk to mark the 2013 edition of the “Celebrate the Benue Woman”.
The women, who were drawn from the 23 local government areas of the state, converged on the LGEA Primary School, Wurukum in Makurdi at 6.30am.
They all walked to the IBB Square in the town, where they were given various lectures on breast and cervical cancers.
In the address of welcome, Suswam said that early detection of cancer could save lives.
She urged women to avail themselves of screening, as she offered free screening for all women at the occasion.
“Don’t wait until you are 50 years before you get yourself screened.
“Go for medical check-up until you are pronounced fit,’’ Suswam advised.
She also urged women to join the crusade of early detection by using the free breast self examination kit given to them to test other women, who were not at the event.
She expressed the wish that every Benue woman should be self reliant and urged them to take care of their health first, stressing that “health is wealth’’.
Earlier, a survivor of breast cancer, Mrs Christy Gbadamosi, narrated how she initially ran away from the hospital when she was told that she needed surgery to remove the lumps in her breast.
“People scared me that they were going to cut off my breast, so I resorted to native medication, which even made the pain and swellings worse.
“I ran back to the hospital where the lumps were removed and I was okay for 23 years until five years ago when the pain resurfaced.
“I went back to the hospital and the breast was removed because it was discovered after tests that the lumps had become cancerous.
“I thank Mrs Suswam for all the assistance she gave me during that time and her zeal in creating awareness on these ailments,” she said.
Gbadamosi advised women to always open up whenever they had health challenges, so that they could get information on how to be tested and ultimately get medical attention.