Dr Lilian Ebuoma on Designing Sustainable Breast Cancer Care Systems in Nigeria

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Across Nigeria, breast cancer awareness and early detection has grown significantly, yet access to timely diagnosis and treatment remains uneven. Many women continue to face long delays or barriers when seeking care. Each October, pink ribbons appear across social media and community events as symbols of solidarity and awareness, but experts note that awareness alone has not led to improved outcomes.

One of those examining how to bridge this gap is Dr Lilian Ebuoma, a Nigerian-American physician-executive and breast radiologist whose work focuses on strengthening care delivery systems.

She argues that while awareness campaigns are important, they must be connected to structured systems that ensure women receive care after screening.

In 2018, Ebuoma founded Lilly Women’s Health, which introduced Nigeria’s first state-endorsed digital mobile mammography programme. The project demonstrated that improving access to screening also requires patient navigation and coordinated follow-up.

“Women need to be guided through every step of the process—from screening and diagnosis to treatment, recovery, and survivorship,” she says. “Navigation is what transforms empathy into logistics and ensures that no woman is lost in the system.”

Her approach relies heavily on data and accountability. While Nigeria now collects more cancer data than before, Ebuoma notes that these figures are not yet fully informing policy or service improvement.

“Without real-time tracking and insight, our strategies remain theoretical rather than transformative. We must know who completes treatment and how survival rates change over time.”

She also highlights workforce investment as essential. Radiologists, pathologists, nurses, and navigators require ongoing training and adequate compensation to maintain service quality.

“When professionals feel undervalued, the system loses its backbone,” she says. “Building human capacity should be as urgent as providing equipment.”

Ebuoma’s work includes promoting clinician support systems to reduce burnout and improve continuity of care. She stresses the need for structured organisational support rather than relying on individual dedication alone.

Beyond her clinical initiatives, she mentors healthcare professionals and early-career leaders through workshops and advisory roles, encouraging system-level thinking and patient-centred design in women’s health.

Public–private collaboration, she adds, is key to making programmes sustainable.

“Breast-cancer initiatives should institutionalise partnerships so that screening, diagnosis, and treatment are available year-round—not only during awareness campaigns.”

For Ebuoma, the goal is to move from awareness to measurable accountability.

“Our goal is to create a system that works every day, turning knowledge into action and hope into tangible results.”