Martins Ifijeh
Dr. Tunde Lalude, a fellow of the prestigious Royal College of Surgeons, Edinburg and the Group Medical Director of Reddington Hospital, has revealed that the hospital is set to address the missing gap in Nigeria’s colorectal cancer diagnosis, treatment and management.
He said the hospital thought it necessary and has put all measures in place for this because of the growing prevalence of the cancer type, growing lack of professional awareness, and the dearth of specialists and facilities in the country needed for reduction of the scourge.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with THISDAY recently, the consultant laparoscopic surgeon who specialises in colorectal diseases including, stomach and colon endoscopy, said as a colorectal surgeon who has worked for more than 20 years in the specialty, he, along with his team are ready to bring their wealth of expertise into addressing the condition in Nigeria.
He said: “So we have set up a colorectal care unit to provide this care. Every single case of colorectal cancer will come to treatment, and with the increase in incidence level, we had no option considering our position in Nigeria’s healthcare space, other than to set up facilities to help.
“People die from the cancer type because they are unable to get care from the healthcare system practised in the country.
“We feel we can bring in a lot of expertise both in preventive strategies in terms of screenings, and also curative care since we have all it takes to do the complex operations that needs to be done.
“We also have the sophisticated diagnosis here at Reddington. We have a state of the art endoscopy suit for diagnosis; we have a city scan; and a host of others.
“We are also collaborating with hospitals with patients but without equipments, such that they can come use our machines at reduced rates.
“This collaboration does two things; reduce medical tourism, and help in training personnel. We expose these personnel to machines they don’t have, while at the same time treating or managing colorectal cancer patients just the way such care are given in the best hospitals in the world.”
Lalude joined the Reddington Hospital in 2016 from Princess Alexandra Hospital in Harlow Essex U.K, where he was formally the Head of Department of Surgery.
He is a strong advocate for the prevention of colorectal cancers, which can be detected by routine colonoscopy and fecal (stool) test.
