Cancer: Pastors, prayer warriors contribute to low cure rate

Paediatric Oncologist and haematologist at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Professor Edamisan Temiye has revealed how actions of pastors and prayer warriors militate against cure rate of cancer patients in Nigeria.

The expert revealed how health practitioners are being labeled witches and wizard or satanic persons for diagnosing ailments like cancer, describing it as “a defeatist behavior which does not help the patient. Then, the patient leaves. By the time he or she comes back to the doctor, it is too late.”

Temiye said this during the 2019 edition of the Children Living With Cancer Foundation (CLWCF), childhood cancer awareness walk tagged: “Walkathon, The Walk,” an annual event designed to educate and enlighten the public on childhood cancers.

He explained that most churches and miracle centres are just deceiving people. “They say, reject it in Jesus name. It is not your portion. And we see the effect of their deception at the end of the day especially as the person returns to the doctor in a very bad state and dies quietly; this time, not in front of the television.

“At that point, before they realise the doctor was not their problem, it would be too late. And there is nothing we can do. Often, viewers usually think there was a miracle and the patient was actually cured. And everybody would say; oh! The miracle happened in this or that church but, fact is; nothing happened.”

He described cancer as a very difficult ailment to cure. He said elsewhere, medics now are achieving high cure rate through bone marrow transplant. “If the cancer has not spread to the bone marrow of that person, you can harvest the bone marrow of that person, then, you hit the person with high dose of anti-cancer drugs to wipe out the cancer. Afterwards, the person’s bone marrow is re-implanted.

“This has been one of the pleasant things that happen in cancer cure. In this, you do not need to treat the reaction of the bone marrow to that person’s body. There are patients that have been cured that way.

“The second is to get the bone marrow of somebody else – usually siblings or some other person that closely match the patient’s system, as we may find out from the register. Then, we hit the patient with chemo and plant the bone marrow for that patient to survive.”

Temiye further disclosing why the bone marrow transplantation in Nigeria has remained a mirage said, “We cannot do it in this country for now due to the cost. Bone marrow transplant is very expensive. In countries like Germany, UK, USA, it runs into hundreds of millions of naira. In India, you many require between N30m to N60m naira. People who have money are going to have it done abroad, and are back and are okay.”

However, some measure of success are said to have been achieved in the cure rate.

Founder, CLWCF, Dr Nneka Nwobbi said the cancer awareness walk was in line with global observance of the month of September as child cancer awareness month.

Speaking on the successes achieved over the 16 years of CLWCF’S operation, Nwobbi said: “we have been creating awareness, giving succour to families whose children have cancer. When a child has cancer, the whole family is affected.”

“Afriglobal Diagnostics has since the past three years, sponsored CLWCF Walkathon. We all have Dana Group of companies. We are getting there. But, it is still an uphill task accessing drugs, medical examinations and therapies.

“We have need for food and ambulances. So, we appeal to the public, corporate bodies, organisations, and governments at all levels to support us,” she added.