In the following video Dr Susan Enjema Aweh, commonly known as Dr. SEA, explains what cancer is in Pidgin English.
Cancer is increasingly becoming a major health problem for Africans back home and abroad.
Latest data available from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) shows that about 715,000 new cancer cases and 542,000 cancer deaths occurred in 2008 in Africa.
These numbers are projected to nearly double (1.28 million new cancer cases and 970,000 cancer deaths) by 2030 simply due to the aging and growth of the population, with the potential to be even higher because of the adoption of behaviours and lifestyles associated with economic development, such as smoking, unhealthy diet, and physical inactivity.
Dr. SEA is a specialist consultant in internal medicine practicing in Germany. She is originally from Cameroon. In the following video she explains what cancer is and the common causes of the disease.
She points out that our lifestyle can increase our cancer risk. For example eating anyhow and becoming overweight; eating less vegetables and fruits; eating too much meat; chemicals in plastic bags; chemicals in canned foods; smoking; drinking alcohol; oncoviruses; mold – such as those in egusi, groundnuts and corn; radiation; bleaching creams, etc., are some of the common causes of cancer.
Dr SEA encourages all Africans in Germany to embrace a balanced lifestyle in order to reduce their cancer risk.