CEOAfrica MD, Prince Cletus Ilobanafor has admonished Nigerians to avoid acts that put their health at risk. He gave the admonition on the occasion of the World Cancer Day.

According to reports, risk factors include overweight, low fruit and vegetable intake, lack of physical activity, tobacco use and alcohol consumption. Although there has been no concrete evidence on what causes/triggers the disease, some predisposing factors such as smoking, unhealthy lifestyle, drinking of alcohol, air pollution, exposure to excessive radiation, viruses, genetic/hereditary factors among others have been pointed out.

Prince Cletus also stressed the need for regular medical checkup in order to detect symptoms early and seek treatment accordingly. He added that chances of beating cancer are higher when treatment is undertaken in the early stages.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), about 24.6 million people live with cancer worldwide.

The most common cancers are breast cancer, lung and bronchus cancer, prostate cancer, colon and rectum cancer, melanoma of the skin, bladder cancer, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, kidney and renal pelvis cancer, endometrial cancer, leukaemia, pancreatic cancer, thyroid cancer, and liver cancer, cervical cancer among others.

World Cancer Day is an international day marked on February 4 to raise awareness of cancer and to encourage its prevention, detection, and treatment.