13062021 - Amid protest , Buhari vows:: i can die for Nigeria

SUNDAY VANGUARD, JUNE 13, 2021, PAGE 13
I don’t want to die, woman
battling cancer cries
By Kennedy Mbele
high.
Mrs Olanrewaju Tunde Adegoke is critically
ill after being diagnosed with cancer. In this
interview, Adegoke speaks about the
excruciating pains she is going through while
soliciting for help from kind hearted Nigerians
to enable her complete treatment. Excerpts:
HOW did you know you could be
having cancer and what steps did
you take?
I knew I stood the risk of having cancer
because I had three lumps in my left breast
several years ago but the moment the lumps
were removed, I erased the possibility of
cancer from my mind because they were
examined in the laboratory and it came out
to be fibroid adenoma and cyst; that was
when I turned 33 years, about 13 years ago.
What happened thereafter?
The doctor who removed the lumps told
me I had nothing to fear since the lumps
had been examined and confirmed to be
ordinary fibroid adenoma. There were no
more lumps in my breast for many years,
but suddenly five months ago, I felt a hit on
one of the scars and within a week I started
itching at that point and within four weeks
something tiny like tumor started growing
from under the scar. I was no longer
comfortable at that point. Within two
months, the tiny growth widened to like
2cm and this made me to go to hospital to
report my feelings.
When and where was it confirmed
that the ailment you have is cancer?
And what were your immediate
reactions?
In February this year, I went to the
National Hospital Abuja to see my doctor
and immediately a biopsy was performed
and the tissues were sent to the laboratory.
The result indicated that what I have is
cancer. My first reaction was, why will
lumps removed, tested to be ordinary fibroid
adenoma and cysts suddenly turned out to
be cancer after 13 years. I shed tears of
sadness, but immediately I wiped the tears
because God spoke to me right there in the
hospital that I will survive even though I
was not aware then that the financial
commitments for the treatment were very
TB Joshua: Over 200 hotels not enough, landlords
convert houses to emergency guest houses
Continued from page 12
Service on Saturday and Sunday service.
“So, almost everybody that came on
Tuesday or Wednesday stayed till weekend
and, for us, it meant more business.
“Then, there was no week my spaces were
not occupied.
“However, the story has changed. We
rarely see customers.
“My point is that things have changed and
business has become bad even before he
died.
Finished work
“And, if you ask me, I will tell you that the
man finished his work long time ago. “If
not, how could he stay for over two years
without any programme? Until now, there
was no Sunday service even before the
Covid-19 lockdown.
“It was only after his members
complained so much that he started
Emmanuel TV Partners programme last
April”.
Dangerous Venture
Asked about the dangers of letting out
rooms to total strangers, Emmanuel
retorted, “Life is all about risk. There is risk
in every business. So, we can’t because of
risks do not do business. “And if you continue
to look at the risks, you can’t live; you won’t
be able to do anything.
“Having said that, the most serious issue
in this business is when a guest dies in your
residence.
“What happens at times is someone can
die in your house.
“You know, some of those that came to
Can you tell us about the doctor’s
report confirming cancer?
According to the doctor’s report,
immunohistochemistry was carried out and
I was diagnosed with Histologically
confirmed Invasive Lobular Carcinoma of
the left breast, that is ER Positive, PR
Negative and HER2 Neu Positive. This
cancer, according to the doctor, is highly
aggressive, yet highly treatable.
How is the treatment going? What
stage are you in now and what is next?
Treatment started immediately cancer
was confirmed to shrink the tumor and it is
stage 2 cancer. Next is surgery and I will be
due for it in June (next month).
People generally believe cancer
treatment can be painful and
expensive. Tell us your experience?
Cancer treatment is actually very painful
and expensive. I do not wish an enemy to
have such ailment. It is advisable to go to
hospital where there are oncologists on
ground for international standard of
diagnosis and treatment otherwise it can
turn out to be a mess. At the time I was
diagnosed, I was given about two weeks’
appointment to come back to see the
oncologist at the National Hospital Abuja
due to long queues of people waiting to see
oncologists too. As I was waiting for the day
to come, even in serious and unbearable
pains, doctors went on strike. I was only left
with no option than to go to a private cancer
center here in Abuja where I commenced
treatment immediately and the pains
disappeared. My experience is very
encouraging because the tumor has reduced
in size but it will take a long time and so
much money to complete treatment. Doctors
say I may need about N26million to
complete treatment.
What kind of help have you received
and what help do you need now going
forward?
I have received assistance from close friends
and family members. But we have spent so
far all the immediate family savings of
N6.5m and we are totally out of funds now
but we still have a lot way to go. I need
the Synagogue are sick people seeking
divine healing.
“The people may look healthy but are sick
inside but you won’t know and let him house.
“When something like that happens, it
always put the person who let out the room
in serious trouble because you don’t know
anything about the person. We don’t pray
for that but it happens once in a while.
“Another risk is letting your room out to
petty thieves.
“This happened to me about nine years
ago. I can remember it vividly. We
accommodated one man who gave his
name as Solomon.
“The way he spoke when he came made
us think he was a good person.
“So, on a Sunday, when everybody had
gone to church, the man came back and
told my wife he wanted to take some things
the prophet asked him to bring, that he
would be going back immediately.
“So my wife allowed him in alone and
returned to our own apartment. The man
went in and broke into other rooms and
stole people’s belongings and disappeared.
“All the victims asked us not to worry
except one who lost a laptop and insisted
we pay him. He even took us to Ikotun police
station and we paid him about N75, 000
for his loss.
Measures
“How we operate now, even then, is when
everybody leaves for church service, we will
no longer allow anyone in unaccompanied.
“If you want to go to the room when others
are still at service, somebody must go in
with you.
“Why it happened to me then was
because my wife can trust so easily and
gave him access to the room alone. I
contributions from people with
compassionate hearts so that I can continue
the treatment.
If you had been diagnosed of cancer
earlier, do you think you would have
been in this situation?
My regret is that the earlier investigation
did not alert me to any danger. If I had been
told from the beginning that there is
possibility of any lump or tumor coming
back, I wouldn’t have undergone necessary
treatment and wouldn’t be in this situation
now.
What advice do you have for women
generally on cancer?
Women, young and old, should go for CT
scan and mammogram at least once a year.
The problem is that it is not affordable for
most women and it is quite unfortunate that
there is so much hardship in this country
which makes it difficult for ordinary citizens
to afford the costs since our healthcare
services are so poor. There is no access to free
CT scan or mammogram in Nigeria, and
that is why we have so many women with
cancer without knowing they are carrying
such a deadly disease in their bodies.
Do you think government is doing
enough to help cancer patients in the
country? How available are facilities
and personnel to treat cancer using
always warn her that you don’t do that in
this business.
“In cases of death, we now request for
some information including names and
phone numbers of next of kin before giving
out rooms.”
Benevolent
Giver
TB Joshua’s kind gestures are known
widely and the communities where the
church was located were the ultimate
beneficiaries.
He provided social amenities such as
water and electric transformers for the
people.
A restaurant operator, Mrs Blessing, said
this of the late pastor, “People around here
loved him so much because he was too good
to them, he took care of them. “If you are a
giver, people will love you.
“The day he died, all the Agbero (local
touts) along this road were crying because
he used to ‘settle’ them. He used to give the
boys money.
“Not only the Agberos, he was also good
to everybody. For example, during the
Covid-19 lockdown, he gave every
household and every staff member of
companies, a bag of rice and money. All of
us benefitted from his benevolence.”
Security
How secured is the neighborhood in view
of number of people that visited daily, our
reporter asked Mr. Osakwe, a security guard
with one of the companies close to the
church.
“There’s no case of robbery because
there are no thieves around this area”,
he said.
your experience as case study?
Our government is not helping cancer
patients at all. Facilities are not available,
only 2 to 4 hospitals have the facilities to
treat cancer patients in the country and I
learnt that not all the 4 hospitals have the
facilities functioning at the moment.
Imagine people coming from all over Nigeria
to National Hospital Abuja for radiotherapy
because that is the only place where you
have functioning facility in the whole
country. It is so sad that cancer patients are
dying every day because of lack of free
medical care and dearth of facilities as well.
Tell us your high and low points in
this battle against cancer and how you
overcame.
My high point in this battle is just the fact
that I live in Abuja and I have little fund to
start the treatment immediately I was
diagnosed. My low point in this battle is that
I feel depressed thinking about funds to
complete treatment. I am yet to overcome
it because my treatment still has a long way
to go, which is the main reason for soliciting
for funds from well-meaning people.
* Those who wish to help Olanrewaju can
donate to her cause through GTB account
number 0036147987. She can be reached
through telephone number 08072793318
“Those who would be stealing were taken
care of by the prophet. No matter the time
one comes to this area in the night, nothing
will happen to you.
“I can tell you that since I moved in to this
place many years ago, I have not heard of
snatching of bags, phones or shout of ‘thief,
thief’ in this area let alone robbery attacks.”
Open Defecation
It is expected that, especially in this part
of the world, that wherever people gather
overnight, they tend to mess up the
surroundings by defecating openly in any
available space. But Mr. Osakwe said that
was not the case with the Synagogue.
“There is nothing like open defecation or
littering of environment here”, he said. “The
church provided adequate facilities to cater
for every member and visitor. You can see
for yourself, go around and check if you
can see anything of such.”
Renewed Hope
Meanwhile, the residents of Ikotun and
Egbe communities are not giving in to
despair over the death of their greatest
benefactor.
They are very optimistic that whoever
that would succeed the late prophet would
be more powerful and do greater
miracles.
“Though TB Joshua is dead, I believe it
will get better. The way I look at it is that
somebody who is greater will take over”,
Emmanuel prayed.
“Our prayer is for God to give us
somebody who will be greater than TB
Joshua to attract more worshippers from
all over the world to the Synagogue. What
we want to see is somebody who is more
powerful than Joshua. If his successor is
powerful, testimonies will spread and
people will start trooping in again”,
Etim, on his part, said.