In commemoration of this year's World Cancer Day, the First Lady of Kwara State and Chairperson of the Nigeria Governors' Spouses Forum, Ambassador Olufolake Abdulrazaq, has stressed that early detection of cancer saves lives. She appealed to the citizens of the state to take full advantage of the free screening exercise provided by the Kwara State Government.

Ambassador AbdulRazaq made this plea during the flag-off of the free screening exercise, which was organised to mark this year's World Breast Cancer Awareness and World Liver Cancer Awareness months (both of which are held annually).

She used the occasion to commend the continuous commitment of the Kwara State Government to safeguarding the health and wellbeing of its populace.

In his goodwill message, the Chairman of the House Committee on Health and Nutrition, Hon. Seun Ogunniyi, noted that many cancers are preventable. He encouraged citizens to seek timely medical advice and participate actively in the health programmes provided by the state.

Earlier in her welcome address, the Hon. Commissioner for Health, Dr Amina Ahmed El-Imam, reaffirmed that cancer remains a global health threat, stressing that breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths among women, while prostate and liver cancers exclusively and disproportionately affect men respectively.

The Commissioner also reiterated that the multi billion ASR cancer center flagged off by Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq would considerably improve government medical facilities to help reduce the rate of mortality caused by cancer.

The event was held by the Kwara State Ministry of Health, in partnership with the Office of the First Lady of Kwara State, the Ajike People Support Center, and Bio Ventures for Global Health at the Kwara state banquet hall.