As the global community commemorates this year’s World Cancer Day, Skye Bank Plc has demonstrated its commitment to public health and safety by promoting a public awareness campaign about the disease.
The bank, in collaboration with a non governmental organisation, C.O.P.E Foundation, focused on the menace of breast cancer and embarked on a sensitisation campaign to get women come out for free breast cancer courtesy of both Skye Bank and C.O.P.E Foundation.
Stakeholders insist that the public can learn more about the causes of cancer, its prevention, control and treatment through the sensitization exercise.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) said about 70 per cent of all cancer deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries. Deaths from cancer worldwide are projected to continue to rise to over 13.1 million in 2030. Cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide, accounting for 7.6 million deaths, around 13 per cent of all deaths in 2008.
Skye Bank’s Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Timothy Oguntayo, described cancer as one of the leading causes of death world wide, especially in the developing countries where inadequate medical care and lack of awareness about the disease have combined to make it very deadly.
He called on government and private sector operators to collaborate to fight the scourge of cancer in the society as incidence of the disease is on the increase.
“At Skye Bank, we have taken up the challenge of working in concert with other publicly spirited organisations and philanthropists not only to promote awareness about the scourge but also to facilitate screening, early detection and effective care for those afflicted. Our concern and desire to stem the growing incidence of the scourge date back to several years ago when we partnered with some non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to call attention to the threat posed by the disease,” he said.
Continuing, the bank CEO said: “It was in furtherance of our commitment towards contributing to the fight against the high incidence of cancer, especially breast cancer in the country that we partnered with an NGO known as Care Organisation Public Enligthenment (C.O.P.E) Foundation, under our Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives, by donating two breast cancer screening machines to it to facilitate screening and early detection of the disease”.
The Skye Bank boss pledged that the lender would continue to support worthy social causes in the health sector to improve the wellbeing and healthcare of Nigerians, saying a healthy nation is a wealthy nation.
Oguntayo called on other corporate organisations to join in the fight against cancer by supporting various programmes and initiatives by NGOs and the government to reduce the cancer scourge and mortality rate in our society.
The Managing Partner of C.O.P.E Foundation, Mrs. Ebun Anozie, called for the establishment of cancer care centres in the country where specialists would be available to provide care and treatment to patients and survivors.
She commended Skye Bank for sponsoring over 30 indigent cancer patients for treatment in addition to providing free screening programmes for over 10,000 women within and outside Lagos.
Anozie said the 2015 World cancer day’s theme is “not beyond us”, focusing on choosing healthy lives; delivering early detection; achieving treatment for all and maximizing quality of life.
For her, focusing on these issues would improve their quality of life and stem incidence of cancer disease.
“Unfortunately, we have noticed the prevalence of breast cancer in younger women and late presentation is still on the increase. Women should please avail themselves of the opportunity to free screening because early detection and treatment is safer and cheaper,” she said.
Cancer experts affirm that death arising from cancer can be avoided in low- and middle income countries if action is taken, bearing in mind that we have well over 100 types of cancer worldwide.
The C.O.P.E Foundation chairperson thanked Skye Bank for taking up the challenge to support C.O.P.E in spearheading the fight against cancer. According to her, the lender has made available free breast and cervical cancer screening to over 300 women during the World Cancer Day week and many more thereafter through the provision of a multi-million naira mobile and stationary cancer screening equipment.
Skye Bank acquired two cancer screening machines for C.O.P.E to help in early detection of the disease as well as facilitating effective treatment when diagnosed of the disease.
Original Article link: https://thenationonlineng.net/skye-bank-cope-foundation-tackle-cancer
