Dr Jennifer Mamby-Alexander was recently invited by The Stop Cancer Foundation in Abuja, Nigeria, to be the guest speaker at its fund-raising Gala Night.

The event took place at The Yar'Adua Centre and was planned to raise five million naira (Nigerian currency) to increase awareness and give treatment support to 1,000 cancer patients across the West African state. Mamby-Alexander was asked to speak on 'Coping With Breast Cancer After a Diagnosis', after the organisation saw the Gleaner articles on her book, A Practical Guide to Coping With Cancer. Through the articles, the foundation realised that she was a 23-year survivor of the disease.

During her visit to Nigeria, she was hosted by the Jamaican high commissioner in Nigeria, Ambassador Robert Miller, and his wife, Christiane.

Interviews

While there, she did numerous radio and television interviews on coping with breast cancer. She was a guest on an Abuja morning talk show on 92.1 Vision FM Radio, where she answered questions from call-in listeners about breast-cancer issues.

During the programme, she was able to successfully guide and refer a recently diagnosed breast-cancer patient to a South African hospital for additional care.

Mamby-Alexander also donated 277 books to the foundation to support cancer victims.

Breast-cancer management is a major public-health issue in Nigeria. It is responsible for 16 per cent of cancer-related deaths in the country.