By Deborah Adeyefa
In 2020, Egone Omejevwe noticed a lump in her left breast. What followed was not a straightforward journey from suspicion to diagnosis and treatment, but years of uncertainty, conflicting medical advice, fear and attempts to find alternatives to conventional cancer care.
By 2023, she had been diagnosed with stage-four breast cancer that had spread to her liver and bones.
In a report published by Radio Nigeria Lagos in September 2026, Omejevwe recounted how she had received conflicting advice after first seeking medical attention, including being told by a doctor that the lump was a spiritual attack. She was subsequently advised to undergo a biopsy but said she was later encouraged to try herbal remedies and supplements. Fear of chemotherapy also influenced her decisions.
Her experience illustrates how the journey to cancer treatment can become complicated by misinformation, fear and delays in obtaining appropriate care.
It also challenges the familiar message repeated during Breast Cancer Awareness Month: that awareness alone is enough.
Awareness matters. Recognising a change in the breast and seeking medical attention can be important first steps. But what happens after a woman notices a lump? Can she access a reliable diagnosis? Can she afford the recommended treatment? And will she receive accurate information before fear or misinformation influences her decisions?
For many Nigerians, these questions can be as consequential as the initial discovery of a symptom.
The numbers behind the pink campaign
Breast cancer remains the most commonly diagnosed cancer among Nigerian women, with a substantial burden of illness and death.
Estimates from the International Agency for Research on Cancer’s Global Cancer Observatory put Nigeria’s breast cancer burden in 2022 at 32,278 new cases and 16,332 deaths among women. These are modelled estimates for that year, not a live count of cases and deaths in 2026.
The scale of the burden makes early diagnosis and access to treatment urgent public health concerns.
A 2025 review published in JCO Global Oncology reported that approximately 70 per cent of breast cancer cases in Nigeria were diagnosed at advanced stages, drawing on previous studies. The review also noted limitations in historical population-level data, an important consideration when interpreting changes in the country’s cancer burden.
Advanced diagnosis can mean more complex treatment and a greater need for coordinated care. The World Health Organization explains that breast cancer treatment depends on the cancer’s subtype and how far it has spread. Treatment may involve surgery, radiotherapy and medicines, used in combinations appropriate to the patient’s condition.
The challenge is therefore not simply to persuade women to pay attention to their health. It is to build a system in which concerning symptoms lead to timely assessment, reliable diagnosis and appropriate treatment.
When misinformation enters the consultation room
Omejevwe’s experience shows how the search for answers can become complicated when medical advice is inconsistent or unproven remedies are presented as substitutes for specialist care.
According to Radio Nigeria Lagos, she tried supplements and alternative remedies during her illness, spending substantial sums without obtaining the improvement she expected. She later resumed medical treatment after her condition worsened. The report said she estimated that treatment, transportation, accommodation and related expenses had cost her close to ₦100 million since the beginning of her cancer journey.
That figure is her reported personal expenditure, not an estimate of what every breast cancer patient must pay. Her experience nevertheless demonstrates how prolonged illness can impose costs beyond hospital bills, including transport, accommodation and the financial demands of repeated treatment.
It also underscores why cancer communication must be accurate and compassionate. Patients may be frightened by a diagnosis, worried about treatment side effects or uncertain about their prospects. Those concerns deserve clear answers from qualified health professionals, not blame or ridicule.
Her experience should not be taken to mean that every patient who explores alternative remedies will follow the same course. It does, however, highlight the danger of allowing unproven treatments to delay assessment or replace evidence-based cancer care.
The WHO emphasises that early diagnosis, appropriate treatment and continuity of care are essential to reducing the burden of breast cancer.
For healthcare providers and public health authorities, the task is to make trustworthy information accessible before a patient is left to navigate frightening decisions alone.
A diagnosis is only the beginning
Even after a patient reaches a hospital, the cost of treatment can create another barrier.
In July 2025, The Guardian reported the experiences of two Nigerian breast cancer patients who encountered significant financial difficulties while trying to obtain care.
Elizabeth Awo-Ejeh, who was diagnosed at age 25, described the pressure of financing treatment while studying. She called for more comprehensive insurance coverage and affordable cancer medicines.
The same report featured Salome Chidinma Titus, a 41-year-old fashion designer diagnosed in December 2024. Titus said she struggled to continue her diagnostic process because she lacked the money. She told the newspaper that an organisation, Project Pink Blue, helped raise funds for her to complete the investigations. After receiving a stage-two diagnosis, she was told chemotherapy would cost ₦2.5 million, an amount she could not afford at the time.
These are individual experiences reported in 2025, and the costs should not be treated as current prices for all patients. They nevertheless reveal the financial decisions that can interrupt a treatment journey.
Cancer care may require several stages of investigation and treatment, with costs varying according to the diagnosis, hospital, medicines, treatment plan and duration of care. For someone whose income is irregular, even paying for the next investigation can be difficult.
The consequences can extend beyond the patient. Family members may contribute savings, borrow money or interrupt their work to provide support. Where treatment involves repeated journeys to a specialist facility, transport and accommodation can add to the burden.
This is why an awareness campaign cannot end at encouraging women to seek medical attention. It must also direct them towards credible diagnostic services, explain available financial support and help them navigate the next steps after a suspicious finding.
Early detection must lead to effective care
The term “early detection” is often used broadly, but it includes distinct approaches.
The WHO distinguishes between early diagnosis, which begins when a person recognises symptoms and seeks timely assessment, and screening, which tests people who do not have symptoms to identify disease before it becomes clinically apparent. Mammography is one screening method used for breast cancer.
This distinction matters in Nigeria, where access to diagnostic services and treatment is uneven. In its July 2026 guidance for primary healthcare settings, the WHO Regional Office for Africa emphasised the importance of assessing women with suspected breast cancer, establishing referral pathways and ensuring continuity of care. It highlighted limited awareness, delays in diagnosis, weak referral systems and gaps in access to services as factors contributing to late presentation in the region.
The practical message is that a woman who notices a new lump or another unusual breast change should not assume it is cancer, but should seek assessment from a qualified health professional rather than ignore it or attempt to diagnose it herself.
Warning signs can include a new lump or thickening in the breast, a change in breast size or shape, changes to the skin or nipple, or unusual nipple discharge. These changes can have causes other than cancer, but persistent or concerning symptoms warrant medical evaluation.
Breast awareness does not replace clinical assessment, and a self-examination cannot establish whether a lump is cancerous. Nor should women wait for pain before seeking help.
Screening recommendations depend on age, individual risk and national guidance. Women should discuss suitable screening with a qualified health professional, particularly if they have a strong family history or other recognised risk factors.
Most importantly, detecting a possible problem is only useful if the health system can provide timely investigations and appropriate follow-up.
Can Nigeria’s new cancer plan close the gap?
In February 2026, the Federal Government announced the National Cancer Control Plan 2026–2030, a framework intended to strengthen prevention, early detection, diagnosis, treatment, survivorship and palliative care. The Ministry of Information reported that eight preventive oncology clinics had become operational in federal tertiary health institutions, including facilities in Abuja, Lagos, Benin City, Enugu, Sokoto, Gombe, Kano and Ile-Ife.
The plan also sets out objectives for improving cancer risk assessment, integrating screening into routine primary healthcare visits and expanding breast cancer screening services across Nigeria’s geopolitical zones. These are policy objectives; their announcement does not establish that all proposed services are already available everywhere.
Financing is another part of the response. In October 2026, reporting by ThisDay, republished by AllAfrica, said the National Health Insurance Authority had expanded an arrangement with pharmaceutical company Roche to reduce the cost of selected cancer medicines for eligible insured patients. Under the reported cost-sharing arrangement, Roche covers 50 per cent of the price of selected medicines, the NHIA contributes 30 per cent and the patient pays the remaining 20 per cent. The report also described additional support for radiotherapy and coverage for certain cancer-related diagnostic services, subject to applicable eligibility and benefit conditions.
Such initiatives could reduce some financial barriers for eligible patients. But their reach depends on awareness, eligibility, participating facilities, medicine availability and whether patients can access the services covered by their plans.
A national strategy must also be measured by its implementation: whether suspected cases are assessed promptly, whether diagnostic results are returned in time, whether referral pathways work and whether patients can complete the treatment prescribed to them.
For people outside major urban centres, distance and transport costs can remain obstacles even where a specialist service exists elsewhere in the country. Strengthening primary healthcare assessment and referral systems may help bring the first steps of care closer to communities, but those systems must connect patients to facilities capable of completing diagnosis and treatment.
Beyond October
Breast Cancer Awareness Month brings attention to a disease that affects thousands of Nigerian women each year. Pink ribbons, screening campaigns and public education can help start conversations that might otherwise never happen.
But the deeper test comes after the campaign ends.
A woman who notices a lump needs a clear route to qualified assessment. A patient who receives a diagnosis needs understandable information and access to appropriate treatment. A family facing the cost of care needs to know what support is available and how to obtain it.
Omejevwe’s experience, as documented by Radio Nigeria Lagos, shows how uncertainty, misinformation and treatment costs can complicate the journey from the first symptom to continued care. The experiences of Awo-Ejeh and Titus, reported by The Guardian, show how financial constraints can obstruct diagnosis and treatment even after patients reach medical facilities.
These stories do not represent every patient’s experience, and their outcomes should not be treated as inevitable. They demonstrate why public awareness must be accompanied by reliable healthcare services, effective referrals, financial protection and compassionate support.
Nigeria has announced a new cancer control framework and initiatives intended to improve early detection and reduce treatment costs. The challenge is to make those commitments meaningful to patients in every state, including those who cannot easily reach a specialist centre or pay for repeated treatment.
The pink ribbon may remind the country to pay attention to breast cancer. But the real measure of progress will be whether a woman who discovers a lump can move from fear to a reliable diagnosis, and from diagnosis to treatment, without misinformation or the cost of care closing the door on her chances.
