Cancer disease has been discovered to be the commonest killer disease at the University College Hospital (UCH),from 2012 till date based on a record from the mortuary.
The Chief Medical Director (CMD), UCH,Prof Temitope Alonge disclosed this on Thursday during the commissioning of a Special Diagnostic Centre, donated to UCH by Alhaji Nurudeen Oluwasola.
“In evaluating the causes of death that in 2012, we needed to know where to focus attention as regard what is really causing major death of our patients, but it turn out that in 2012 infection was the commonest cause of death, but then we discover that cancer related death was becoming constant, so we decided to visit the oldest cancer institute in the world to find out how they manage to sustain their excellence and offer cancer care in 100 years and it turn out that they have a research centre that gives result back to the clinical section to let them know the pattern of the cancer and treatment modality that should be targeted.
“Before now we have treatment carried out in hospitals and they tell you this is the treatment modality for a particular disease, however we know that not one cancer is the same with another one.” he said
Alonge said the new diagnostic centre will be able to define the character and attitude of the cancers, noting that the kind of treatment that can work and the treatment that cannot work will also be specified.
According to the UCH boss, This centre can now target treatment of every cancer and it is an individualistic approach to cancer care.
He went further that:”In the healthcare delivery model, the ultimate aim is to have patient who have gone into an hospital, better treated, comfortable with treatment giving to them and are coming out happy and smiling. This centre allows us better diagnostic targeted at a particular treatment of a disease rather than giving generalistic treatment approach to a disease.
“It will also allow us to know if a patient have a low or high survival rate with all the type of tests that will be conducted here. We are proud recipient of the generousity of Alh Nurudeen Oluwasola who has deem it fit to support this institution to provide target treatment protocols for cancer.”
Alonge said that the test to be carried out by patients at the centre are cheap and affordable.
He appealed to other well meaning Nigerians to support the centre in procuring other equipment that will make the centre to be more effective.
In his remark, the Director of the Centre, Dr Abideen Oluwasola said the centre plans to evolve into a centre of excellence in offering a host of preventive and clinical diagnostic services as well as state of the art research opportunities.
He said the centre will promote multi-disciplinary and interdisciplinary partnership to foster a healthy and harmonious atmosphere for quality and excellent heathcare delivery in all fields of clinical care.