Anambra State-based oncologist, Dr Brenda Nwanmuo, says no fewer than 4.4 million women are living with breast cancer globally, with Nigeria ranking fourth among the endemic nations according to a report by the World Health Organization, WHO.
Delivering a paper at the launch of a mammography machine for detecting breast cancer at the Eldorado Hospital, Awka, a private health facility, Nwanmuo said further that a projection by WHO had also shown that 1.7 million additional breast cancer cases mostly in developing countries, would be diagnosed in 2020.
According to her, breast cancer accounts for over 400,000 deaths annually and described it as the commonest cancer among females in Nigeria.
She attributed the high mortality rate to late presentation of breast cancer cases, adding that men could also suffer from breast cancer and should, therefore, go for routine tests for the disease.