In its quest to give a lease of hope to cancer patients in Delta State and Nigeria, the Lady Oak Cancer Club is seeking N1.8 billion in funds to equip the cancer care centre it is setting up in Agbor in Delta State to save people from dying of cancer. Rebecca Ejifoma reports the launch of the fundraising for the charity project
The President of Lady Oak, Christine Okubor and other members of the club have resolved to be a catalyst of change in their immediate community in line with the mandate of the club since its establishment in 1987.
Hence, the foundation implemented a series of women’s health interventions, both within and outside Delta State among several other programmes. One such programme it embarked on years ago was cervical cancer awareness campaigns in Agbor in Delta State.
Every year, the club screened at least 350 women. Between 2014 through 2016, the club screened at least 1,000 women. Women living in Africa experience the highest burden of Cervical cancer, which is the second most common cancer among women worldwide, with an estimated 528,000 new cases and 266,000 deaths among women each year.
A proportionate number of these cases (85 per cent) and deaths (87 per cent i.e. almost nine out of the cervical cancer deaths) occur among women living in low and middle-income countries unfortunately, Nigeria is one.
It was, therefore, to address this pressing issue in the nation’s healthcare delivery, especially access to quality cancer care treatment that the foundation brought to the fore the dire need for a facility such as the Lady Oak Cancer Care Centre (LOCCC), Agbor. LOCCC is a holistic facility that will cater to the physical, psychological, and mental needs of cancer warriors, who often travel to other states and countries for quality and comprehensive care. Hence, the need for the N1.8bn funds to save more lives.
The funds will be used to equip the facility with equipment like Medical Imaging, Computer Tomography, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Radiation therapy, Chemotherapy, Pharmacy, Surgical Theatre, Chapel and Counseling.
According to the President of the Club, Christine Okubor when all the facilities are put in place, there will be proper management, prevention measures, screening, diagnosis, treatment, and survival of cancer victims. “We at Lady Oak Club after our cancer awareness outreach in 2016, we approached the Delta State Government and they allocated a piece of land to us.” And within 17 months, the physical building of LOCCC was completed. “We are poised to engage with the best manufacturers of medical equipment and security for the centre, state-of-the-art diagnostic and imaging machines with the most advanced cutting-edge technology for screening, diagnosis and treatment of cancer. We hereby appeal to the general public to make our vision a reality.”
She admitted, however, that coughing up such a whopping figure may not be easy to achieve. “But we know, with God on our side, we would do that and I know we have some very public-spirited individuals who have promised us that they will partner with us.”
While reminding the audience at the fundraising ceremony in Lagos, the president conceded that most of this equipment is not manufactured in the country. “We have to factor in the cost and time it would take to bring them in. But what we are looking at is between six and nine months. They have to ship the equipment down.
“Most importantly, you can have the best equipment but who is going to man them? At Lady Oak Club, we are looking at getting a third party. We are talking to some foreign bodies and cancer centres over there who would come and do the day-to-day administrative run of the place. So we are hoping that in the next six to nine months that centre will be operational,” says Okubor.
She, however, frowned waiting for the government to do it all. “At times, we all wait for government to provide care for us. I believe that each of us can do something for the nation, for humanity.” She encouraged Nigerians further, “You find out that if you wait for government, yes government has the primary responsibility but at times if we look out for one another we can do a lot.”
Their Call
“We are calling on every one to partner with us,” Okubor appealed. “As they say, cancer is not an ailment that is limited to an area. If you have a comprehensive cancer centre right there in Delta state, somebody from Kaduna, Cross River and others can go there for treatment.
“So we want to appeal to public-spirited Nigerians that we are people you can trust with your money. We want to assure you that with Lady Oak you can be sure that every penny would be spent for humanity. So, make the Lady Oak Cancer Care Center a reality because it’s going to serve the whole nation, not just the local community, not just Delta,” she beckoned.
Echoing the words of Okubor at the Fundraising event in Lagos, the CEO/Founder, of Marcelle Ruth Cancer Care & Specialist Hospital, Dr Modupe Elebute-Odunsi described cancer treatment as a most daunting experience physically, emotionally and financially among others. LOCCC will help to increase access to cancer care by eliminating as many critical barriers as possible.”
The Lady Oak Club is socio-philanthropic and service-oriented with a vision to be the leading community-based female organisation that will champion and sustain the development of the IKA woman through the establishment of platforms of empowerment, enterprise and healthy living.
The Lady Oak Club believes that through its composite collaboration, it can improve the lives of citizens who face challenges, and who have fewer opportunities than others but who are an inseparable part of our society.
