Cancer today is the leading cause of death globally and particularly in developing nations, the reason for this statistic is not unconnected to its cost of treatment, management, access to advanced medical technologies, and early diagnosis, in other words, access to medical care is a major contributing factor. A cancer diagnosis is not just the worst, it is the most dreaded disease condition a patient wants to receive from their medical practitioners, yet it is the most chronic health condition that is ravaging our society, militating against not just the human race but also most domestic animals. In addition to the high cost of cancer treatment is the psychosocial trauma that accompanies diagnosis for both patients and their families. Unlike in advanced nations where cancer diagnosis, treatment, and management have been made easy for citizens, owing to advancements in medical technologies, expertise, the right environment, cancer-fighting foods amongst others, and access to them, Africa and particularly Nigeria is still grappling with poor medical facilities making diagnosis, treatment, and management most challenging for patients with cancer. My recent study on patients living with cancer revealed a huge gap in cancer diagnosis, treatment, management, and recovery. It is noteworthy that Africa is far from measuring up with international best practices in cancer treatment basically due to the lack of advanced medical tools to manage this ailment amidst the surging rate of this debilitating condition in our continent. One thing common to all respondents of that study was that “Cancer was a wasting disease” – this was because the disease aside from wasting their health, also wasted their resources and assets in a quest to recover their health, yet the condition seems not to improve much for most patients and most end up dying after they have spent their all. At The Concern Home, our focus is to give patients living with cancer psychosocial support and promote cancer nutrition and lifestyle modification that will enhance their prognosis and successful treatment outcomes. We cannot negate the fact that cancer treatment must go hand in hand with nutrition targeted at total recovery. We understand that “Cancer should not be a death sentence”. Therefore, we leverage emerging research findings advocating the role of nutrition, giving the body the enabling environment to heal itself, psychosocial support, and treatment in the treatment of cancer. Psychoeducation is fundamental to achieving this. We believe that every patient living with cancer should be given the chance to fight the disease, to fight for their lives. To be given the chance implies giving them the right information, nutritional education, and psychosocial support to improve resilience while undergoing treatment.  

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