Nduka Chinelo C, Nweke Chizobam A, Chidebe Runcie C W, Nwakasi Candidus
Department of Community Medicine, Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital, Nnewi, Anambra State, Nigeria.
Department of Human Development and Family Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269, USA.
Ecancermedicalscience. 2025 Apr 10;19:1887. doi: 10.3332/ecancer.2025.1887. eCollection 2025.
Nigeria has a significant cancer burden, especially breast cancer (BC), which has the highest incidence and mortality in the country. However, like many countries in sub-Saharan Africa, the focus continues to be on infectious diseases to the detriment of addressing non-communicable diseases like cancer with a resultant paucity in available funding, health infrastructure and even health workforce geared towards cancer care. All these invariably lead to very low access to cancer care, with poor patient outcomes being recorded. The purpose of this study is to explore the experiences of BC survivors who are part of a non-profit cancer advocacy group to highlight important areas of cancer survivorship that can be targeted by cancer advocacy programs and interventions in Nigeria.
We used a qualitative descriptive approach and recruited 19 BC survivors through a purposive sampling method. The participants were engaged in four focus group discussions. Analysis of the data resulted in four main themes with direction implications for cancer advocacy among BC survivors in Nigeria. They include 'Strengthening care interaction quality'; 'Addressing delayed presentation'; 'Expanding access to informal support' and 'Alleviating the cost burden of cancer care.' Various recommendations were made, such as better management of the Nigerian Cancer Health Fund, comprehensive cancer coverage by the National Health Insurance Authority and the need for Nigeria's National Institute for Cancer Research and Treatment to consider retention and training policies for the oncology workforce in Nigeria. This paper highlights the importance of cancer advocacy, arguing that a better understanding of cancer survivorship can strengthen cancer advocacy in Nigeria. In turn, strong cancer advocacy will help to prioritise cancer issues and mitigate a looming cancer crisis in Nigeria.
尼日利亚癌症负担沉重，尤其是乳腺癌，其发病率和死亡率在该国居首位。然而，与撒哈拉以南非洲的许多国家一样，重点仍放在传染病上，这不利于应对癌症等非传染性疾病，导致用于癌症治疗的可用资金、卫生基础设施甚至医疗人员短缺。所有这些都必然导致癌症治疗的可及性极低，患者预后不佳。本研究的目的是探讨作为非营利性癌症倡导组织成员的乳腺癌幸存者的经历，以突出癌症幸存者的重要领域，尼日利亚的癌症倡导项目和干预措施可以针对这些领域。
我们采用定性描述性方法，通过目的抽样法招募了19名乳腺癌幸存者。参与者参加了四次焦点小组讨论。数据分析得出四个主要主题，对尼日利亚乳腺癌幸存者的癌症倡导具有指导意义。它们包括“加强护理互动质量”；“解决就诊延迟问题”；“扩大获得非正式支持的机会”和“减轻癌症治疗的成本负担”。提出了各种建议，例如更好地管理尼日利亚癌症健康基金、国家健康保险局提供全面的癌症保险，以及尼日利亚国家癌症研究与治疗研究所需要考虑针对尼日利亚肿瘤医疗人员的留用和培训政策。本文强调了癌症倡导的重要性，认为更好地了解癌症幸存者情况可以加强尼日利亚的癌症倡导。反过来，强有力的癌症倡导将有助于优先处理癌症问题，并缓解尼日利亚迫在眉睫的癌症危机。
