Launches Hassy Haven Foundation to Support Cancer Patients
Last week, a group of people gathered at the Butterfly Hotel in Kaduna to launch the Hassy Haven Foundation. The foundation aims to provide support and treatment to cancer patients in Nigeria. The founder of the foundation, Hussaina Mohammed Yakubu, lost her twin sister to throat cancer and emphasized the need for immediate action to find a cure for the disease.
According to the Cancer Control Plan, cancer is responsible for 72,000 deaths in Nigeria every year while about 102,000 new cases are reported annually. She stressed that there must be more awareness of cancer across the country to guide patients on how to manage or treat the disease.
Hussaina, who works with the News Agency of Nigeria NAN, lamented that late detection and cost of treatment is also one of the reasons for so many deaths from Cancer. Hassana her twin, she said gave in to cancer after some years of proper diagnosis and treatment “.
She said the only way to honour her twin is to set the foundation HASSY HAVEN, which is aimed at raising awareness about cancer prevention and available support services.
“The Federal Government must declare emergency on Cancer and also called for the opening of a treatment centre in the North West zone to ease the challenges faced by patient’s, and must be equipped with cancer treatment equipment’.”
Hussaina, a woman in her early 40s, has urged governors of the zone to urgently equip hospitals in their respective states with equipment capable of detecting and treating cancer. This will reduce the burden of traveling long distances for chemotherapy. She also emphasized the need for all levels of government to engage in aggressive cancer awareness campaigns, as prevention and early detection are crucial in saving lives from cancer. Hussaina believes that early detection of cancers that affect women, such as breast and cervical cancer, can lead to saving lives. Unfortunately, she feels that not enough is being done in this regard.
Hussaina stated that the “Hassy Haven Foundation” will take significant measures to raise awareness about detecting and treating cancer, as well as providing emotional support to those affected. She also appealed to the wealthy to help in purchasing cancer treatment machines in the North West zone, to reduce the burden of traveling long distances for treatment.
Asabe Ndoma.
