09 Mar CANCER AWARENESS: NLRC Partners Venus Medicare in a Sensitisation
In a proactive move towards improving the quality of staff welfare, the National Lottery Regulatory Commission (NLRC) through its Welfare Unit, has collaborated with the Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) in charge of the Commission’s workforce on a sensitisation program for all NLRC staff.
The event which was held in the Commission’s headquarters and facilitated by the Venus Medicare Limited (VML) three-man team had staff visibly attentive with an in-depth analysis of cervical and prostate cancers, after which an interactive session on the NHIS packages followed.
Speaking at the event, the VML Head of Member Services, Dr. Azubuike Amechi stated that Cancer as a topic is one that the VML as an HMO is sensitive to, and it is on this premise that the program was initiated.
Dr Azubuike Amechi, of Venus Medicare Ltd addressing staff of NLRC
Aligning with the vision of VML, this collaboration according to Amechi, aims to arm every staff with needed information about the deadly disease for possible prevention and treatment options
He stated that Cervical cancer is a sexually transmitted disease, common in low and middle-income countries. It can be completely prevented, and vaccines are there to do so for girls between the ages of 9 and 15, while the pap smear is there to test for the virus in older and sexually active women, which is also treatable. “Exposure to sex at a tender age when the female body is yet to fully develop is a major risk factor, because the causative virus HPV-16 and HPV-18 reside in every man’s sperm. It takes up to 10-25 years for the disease to develop, and because it can be hard to detect, owing to the fact that it has no symptoms in its early stages. Regular screening is therefore key for prevention”, he said.
Proceeding with the lecture, Amechi noted that while cervical cancer is an increasing concern to every woman, prostate cancer should be of equal concern to every man. He emphasized that on the one hand, Cervical cancer is what it is when fully developed and diagnosed. Prostate, on the other hand, is in two classes: a simply enlarged non-cancerous prostate and the prostate cancer.
“The prostate does not function outside sexual activity, and the major risk factors are old age and genetics”, he stated. Dr. Amechi who led the team of facilitators carefully articulated everything that needed to be said about both diseases, backed by global and local statistics on the matter. Speaking on the nature of both cancers, he stressed the importance of routine medical checks, regular exercises and healthy diet in the fight against cancer, he noted that they go a long way in limiting exposure to the worst-case scenarios. He highlighted and explained extensively, the risk factor of cancer types, possible prevention, clinical symptoms, early detection, and treatment.
Staff members were visibly attentive and actively engaged in discussions as the lecture lasted, and thereafter, posed questions about the topic as well as shared personal experiences.
Taken one after the other, the duo of Dr. Amechi and Dr. Chidi Agana, Head of Marketing (VML) responded to each question meticulously. With the end of the cancer lecture, staff who had issues affecting their effective use of the HMO services took the floor to register their complaints. The concerns basically surrounded the delayed generation of codes in the hospitals and the NHIS scanty coverage for staff medical care.
Reacting to the staff complaints, Amechi said that the expressed discomforts are usually linked to the nonchalant attitude on the part of the hospital HMO units, particularly the public hospitals. He, however appealed to all staff to contact the VML officers at any such occasion because very often, these desk officers in the hospitals do not pay necessary attention to the process thereby complicating issues for users.
He expressed sympathy to the aggrieved staff for the sad experiences these lapses may have brought about, and added that to better serve the staff of the Commission, their team will get across to the Welfare Unit, every access line and email address through which they could be contacted for rapid response.
By Nnenna Onwudiwe & Garos Gyang