By Our Correspondent
The Kano Cancer Treatment Centre (KCTC) has provided free radiotherapy treatment worth over N12 million to 10 indigent cancer patients in Kano State.
The intervention was approved for patients assessed and confirmed to be financially incapable of accessing radiotherapy services.
The beneficiaries included patients referred through the Kano State Ministry of Health as well as others receiving treatment at the centre.
Speaking on the initiative, the Chief Executive Officer of KCTC, Dr Nafisa Abdu, said the intervention was part of the centre’s commitment to improving access to cancer care and enhancing the quality of life of vulnerable patients.
She said the initiative was particularly important for patients with advanced cancer, whose treatment often focuses on controlling the disease, managing symptoms and improving their quality of life.
“At the cancer centre where I work, our responsibility is to treat cancer patients. For those whose cases are beyond cure, especially stages three and four, we focus on managing the disease to improve their quality of life,” she said.
Abdu expressed concern over the increasing burden of cancer, warning that more families could be affected if access to prevention, early detection and treatment services was not strengthened.
She noted that radiotherapy remained an essential component of treatment for several types of cancer but was often financially inaccessible, with treatment costs potentially exceeding N1 million.
According to her, financial difficulties had forced some patients to discontinue or abandon treatment.
“Some of these patients had completely given up on treatment because they simply could not afford it,” she said.
The KCTC chief executive explained that the beneficiaries were selected through a discreet assessment process to ensure that the intervention reached patients with genuine financial needs.
“Our goal was not publicity but impact. We worked with our team to identify patients who had exhausted all options and truly had no means of support,” she said.
She stressed that the programme was specifically designed to support indigent patients who genuinely could not afford cancer treatment.
“Our focus is on indigent patients, those who genuinely cannot afford treatment, not those who can pay but choose not to,” she said.
Abdu expressed optimism that the initiative would be sustained as an annual programme to enable more financially vulnerable cancer patients to access essential treatment.
Radiotherapy, also known as radiation therapy, uses high-energy radiation to destroy or control cancer cells. Depending on the type and stage of cancer, it may be used to cure the disease or relieve symptoms and improve the quality of life of patients with advanced cancer.
The centre said the intervention underscored the need to strengthen partnerships and support mechanisms to reduce financial barriers to cancer treatment and ensure that vulnerable patients were not denied essential care because of their inability to pay.
