Perpetua Egesimba
After a long delay in child bearing, Mrs. Janet Modupe Oyedele, founder Timilehin Leukaemia Foundation, finally gave birth to her only son and child, Timilehin whom she eventually lost to leukaemia in 2014.
Recounting the harrowing event, she recalled how her son was diagnosed of the disease at the age of three and after then, they started moving from one hospital to the other.
First from Lagos State Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), where they spent four months and then to the University of Ife to continue the treatment.
In her son’s case, he came out of leukaemia but after some time, he went into a relapse and in December 2014, she lost him to the disease.
“When my child was in school and the sickness started new, the school rejected him because he was sick. I wept and begged but they refused saying that they will take him back when he is well.
“Leukaemia is not contagious. My child was demoralised when he heard that the school does not want him again. We had to look for another school and start all over again. Kids with leukaemia are looked at with pity; you know that when they are taking chemotherapy, they lose their hairs. I know of a woman that lost her child because she could not afford N500, 000 needed for just one drug. I have tried to move on without his memory and experience but his last words have kept me restless.
“Few hours before his death, he woke me up around 3:00am on a Christmas morning in 2014 saying, mummy thank you for taking care of me, my God will take care of you. Continue the good work.”
Unlike Mrs. Oyedola who was able to finance the treatment of her son, Mr. Abdulganiu Olalekan Kazeem who lost his only brother, Ibrahim Owolabi Idowu in July due to lack of money for his treatment also narrated his brother’s ordeal in the hands of leukaemia.
According to Kazeem, his brother’s case was cancer of the blood. He was 32.
“When he fell sick, we took him to a private hospital where it was discovered that he had anemia. We were told to take him to a general hospital at Ifako. From there they said we should go to LASUTH at Ikeja. It was there that they discovered that he had leukaemia.
“For six months, the family tried, we spent about N1.5 million and then there was no money again for his treatment. I even wrote to the governor’s office, the deputy governor’s office and ministry of health for assistance but we never got a reply. The only response we got was they will call until he eventually died on July 23, 2019.
“We bought over 30 pints of blood for him. At the Private hospital, they sold a pint for N15,000 but when we moved to the private hospital, it was sold N7,500.
“The thing is the issue of leukaemia requires government assistance because it’s very expensive. Even when my brother was at LASUTH, sometimes they will tell us there was no blood. Government should intervene to make treatment of leukaemia affordable and free if possible,” he lamented.
Leukaemia is a cancer of the blood or bone marrow. It can happen when there is a problem with the production of blood cells and it usually affects the leukocytes, or white blood cells. It happens when the DNA of immature blood cells, mainly white cells, becomes damaged in some way, which causes the blood cells to grow and divide continuously, making them too many.
Leukaemia mostly affects people over the age of 55 years, but it is also the most common cancer in children under the age of 15 years.
According to a Public Health Advocate and General Practitioner, Excellence Olukayode, leukaemia like every other cancer is dangerous. And there is no cancer that is a joke but leukaemia being a cancer of the blood is very dangerous. It is something that can affect both adults and children.
According to him, there are different types of leukaemia but something common to all of them is that they emanate from the blood cells and then lead to the destruction and dysfunction of the blood cells.
Most cells he said have different functions. The red blood cells have their own function. So when leukaemia happens, it disturbs the function of the red blood cells and the white blood cells, making people prone to frequent infections. Leukaemia also affects the cells called platelets which are responsible for blood clothening. So, people that have leukaemia are susceptible to uncontrolled bleeding.
Leukemia is common among Nigerian children. When you admit about 20 patients, 15 will be leukaemia while the other five are suffering from other types of cancer, like kidney cancer.
Causes
According to Olukayode, ignorance and the fact that early detection does not happen are the major causes. Like every other cancer, if leukaemia is detected early the chances of survival are on the increase. The key point is early detection. Those that are now detected will now go for treatment.
Also, study shows that leukemia happens when the DNA of immature blood cells, mainly white cells, becomes damaged in some way.
This causes the blood cells to grow and divide continuously, so that there are too many.
Healthy blood cells die after a while and are replaced by new cells, which are produced in the bone marrow.
The abnormal blood celåls do not die when they should. They accumulate, occupying more space.
As more cancer cells are produced, they stop the healthy white blood cells from growing and functioning normally, by crowding out space in the blood. Essentially, the bad cells crowd out the good cells in the blood.
It is worth mentioning however, that scientists don’t understand the exact causes of leukemia. It seems to develop from a combination of genetic and environmental factors.
Signs and Symptoms
Olukayode said that simple symptoms to look out for are the malaria symptoms. An adult in Nigeria knows what symptoms of malaria are especially when it becomes very frequent.
Leukemia symptoms vary, depending on the type of leukemia. Common leukemia signs and symptoms include: fever or chills, persistent fatigue, weakness, frequent or severe infections, losing weight without trying, swollen lymph nodes, enlarged liver or spleen.
Other signs are; easy bleeding or bruising, recurrent nosebleeds, tiny red spots in your skin (petechiae), excessive sweating, especially at night as well as bone pain or tenderness.
Again, you may overlook early leukemia symptoms because they may resemble symptoms of the flu and other common illnesses. Rarely, leukemia may be discovered during blood tests for some other condition.
Treatment
The treatment Olukayode said can be very expensive. Even when detected early and the person cannot finance the treatment it becomes another problem.
Stating further, he said another problem about the treatment is the place of blood transfusion because whilst the person is undergoing treatment, the blood has to be replaced. The person has to have enough blood and that’s where blood transfusion comes into the picture. This is why having enough blood in the blood bank is important. And why it is necessary that enough people donate blood voluntarily.
According to an Oncologist, Oluwatoyin Awosemo, leukaemis treatment is very expensive and there are some type of chemotherapy that cost about N200,000 and chemotherapy drugs are very expensive.
She said: “When people don’t have money there would be a break in treatment, which might lead to relapse of the leukaemia patient.
“Some of the samples we send to South Africa cost almost N300,000 just to confirm. The sample of the bone marrow is taken to be examined under practitioners.
“As we speak, a child is dying of leukaemia because there is no blood, no money for chemotherapy and this is why government should come into the health sector and make things better.”
Other types of treatment include: targeted therapy, interferon therapy, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, surgery and stem cell transplantation.
According to experts, chemotherapy can affect the whole body, but targeted therapy is aimed at a specific part of the cancer cell.
Some types of chronic leukemia do not need treatment in the early stages, but monitoring is essential. The oncologist may suggest watchful waiting with frequent doctor’s visits.
For a type of leukemia known as chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), a bone marrow transplant may be effective. Younger patients are more likely to undergo transplantation successfully.
Prevention
According to Olukayode, generally, in preventing cancers, there are some risk factors associated with most cancers. Cigarette smoking is linked to almost all cancers. So for people that indulge in that particular habit, avoiding smoking cigarette will help in reducing the risk of the cancer. Exposure to chemical, radiation is another thing should also be avoided.
Diet can be a powerful weapon in the fight against leukemia. It’s important for patients to eat foods full of antioxidants that help fight cancer and keep the body strong, so it can keep on fighting.
A healthy diet for someone with leukemia is pretty similar to a healthy diet for the general population, says registered dietitian Dee Sandquist, a spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association in Fairfield, Iowa. But with leukemia, it’s even more important to follow healthy eating guidelines, because leukemia treatment can make patients nauseated and reduce their appetites, interfering with their best intentions to eat well.
Home remedies
Steam your vegetables: This way, you get the most nutrients from them. And look for ways to add more to your plate. Try a stir-fry made from a variety of peppers, mushrooms, broccoli, and carrots; add steamed sweet peas, cauliflower, and zucchini to a salad; top a baked potato with broccoli or tomatoes; make vegetable soup with spinach, kale, mustard greens, collard greens, or chard; and drink low-sodium vegetable juice.
Go for whole grain: Every bite you take should have as much nutrition as possible, Sandquist says. That means choosing 100-percent whole-wheat bread (check the ingredients list), brown rice instead of white rice, whole-grain cereal, and ancient grains such as quinoa.
Make protein a priority: The side effects of chemotherapy can include nausea and vomiting, which takes away some people’s appetite for meat, Sandquist said. But it’s very important for patients with leukemia to get protein because it will keep them strong. If a hamburger doesn’t appeal to you, try cooking something a little more bland, such as a piece of fish or chicken without much seasoning. It may also be easier to eat chicken or fish in soup, she says. If you are vegetarian, good protein foods include nuts and seeds, soy products such as tofu or soy milk, wheat or oat cereals, and eggs.
Eat every two to four hours: People with leukemia tend to lose weight because of a loss of appetite and nausea, but it’s very important to maintain the weight to stay strong, Sandquist advised. If it’s hard to eat a big meal, eating small snacks or meals every two to four hours may help.
Need for Awareness
According to experts, no awareness is too much because there are people that are still not aware of the dangers of the disease. Even the people that know about it forget sometimes due to challenges of life.
The principal thing the government can do is sensitisation of the disease. This is because, when there is awareness, people can take more proactive steps. The government has a lot of burden on this, Kayode explains.
“When there is awareness, private individuals will be more willing to offer assistance just like Timilehin Leukaemia Foundation is doing. That is helping to speak more and advocate for leukaemia patients. When people are aware, they might not mind parting with a portion of their resources to help patients so that the financial burden of treating and managing leukaemia patients is not entirely on the patient of leukaemia and their families alone.”
Risk factors
Some factors increase the risk of developing leukemia.
The following are either known or suspected factors: artificial ionizing radiation, viruses, such as the human T-lymphotropic virus (HTLV-1) and HIV, benzene and some petrochemicals, alkylating chemotherapy agents used in previous cancers, hair dyes and smoking.
Genetic predisposition: Some people appear to have a higher risk of developing leukemia because of a fault in one or several genes.
Down syndrome: People with Down syndrome appear to have a higher risk, possibly due to certain chromosomal changes.
It has been suggested that exposure to electromagnetic energy might be linked to leukemia, but there is not enough evidence to confirm this.