Boosting Cancer Survival in Nigeria: Self-management Strategies

Abstract

Cancer is a menace fast gaining momentum in Nigeria and other developing countries. It is an expensive rates in Nigeria are spiraling beyond control. This literature search study was primarily aimed at providing recommendations on cost-effective strategies for development interventions to promote self-management for cancer survivors in Nigeria with a goal to improve quality of life and overall survival.Keywords: Cancer -Nigeria -survival -incidence/mortality -lifestyle changes -self-care RESEARCH ARTICLE Boosting Cancer Survival in Nigeria: Self-management StrategiesObiageli Crystal Oluka 1 1 1 2 * from the time of diagnosis to the end of initial treatment and the transition from treatment to extended and longterm survival. In this paper however, the term cancer patient and survivor are used interchangeably. Materials and Methods AimThis study reviews the epidemiology of cancer in Nigeria, providing recommendations on self-management strategies for survivors aimed at improving quality of life and overall survival. Literature SearchRelevant articles were identified by searching several databases: PUBMED, MEDLINE and Cochrane Library. Information was also retrieved from the websites of international agencies and non-governmental organizations as well as reference lists of eligible articles. Key search terms included synonyms of the following words: cancer; Nigeria; survival; incidence/mortality; lifestyle changes and self-care, which were used in various combinations.

Quality of Life and Psychological Well-Being of Breast Cancer Survivors in Jordan

“…In contrast, only 8.8% of study participants received psychological counseling after diagnosis and only 2.7% participants in psychosocial support program. The above figures explore the big gap in cancer rehabilitation and psychosocial support programs between developed and developing countries (Oluka et al, 2014). This could justify the poor quality of life scores and the high psychological co-morbidities detected in Jordan when compared with other countries.…”

Barriers and benefits of model development for integration of palliative care for cancer patients in a developing country: A qualitative study

“…Mortality rate of cancer in Nigeria as recorded by WHO shows that males 30 400 and females 38 000 deaths (WHO, 2014c). Non‐communicable diseases (NCDs) were not included among health‐related targets of the Millennium Development Goals, and this may partly excuse the absence of health policy in Nigeria on prevention, control or even care of conditions such as cancer (Oluka, Shi, Nie, & Sun, 2014; Onwasigwe, 2010). Although palliative care (PC) was introduced in Nigeria in 2003, the country has just two known functional PC centres, located in Ibadan and Enugu (Onyeka, 2011).…”

Providing Lifestyle Counseling to Cancer Patients during Routine Consultation: Instrument Development and Reliability

“…One of such proposed strategies is the recruitment of primary care doctors, regardless of their specialties, to provide lifestyle counseling to cancer patients/survivors that are tailored to their individual needs and abilities. 6 Of particular interest are the areas of; diet, physical activity and weight management. These factors have been increasingly implicated in the development and prognosis of many cancers.…”

“…These factors have been increasingly implicated in the development and prognosis of many cancers. 6,7,8 The Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) is a model of behavior change which has demonstrated its effectiveness in many health behavior studies including those involving physicians and other health professionals. 9,10,11 The theory works on the assumption that the behavior of a person is dependent on intention, which in turn is a function of three main independent variables: attitude towards the behavior, subjective norm (SN-perceived social pressure to/ not to perform the behavior) and perceived behavioral control (PBC-factors that encourage or discourage performance of the behavior).…”