Nobel laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka on Tuesday revealed how he contacted and got cured of deadly prostate cancer. He told journalists in Abeokuta that he gave the health information to encourage those with the condition that it was not a death sentence.
He made this at a press conference tagged ‘Beyond Ebola And Beyond Reign of the Silent Killer.’ Soyinka disclosed that he had been diagnosed of cancer last year December and was cured October this year. “In December last year, I discovered that I had cancer, we were making sure that, that was what it was before going for the other test and once it had been decided that I did have cancer and I was sure because in my family, we had an uncle, at that time he died we did not have all the sophisticated way of knowing how he died. “What killed him was attributed to a lot of things. From the little things I know about cancer, I came to a conclusion that he died of cancer, maybe we have it in our family. ”Let me emphasize this and a lot of people know this. I am a private person, I believe every certain territory of every individual should be private to themselves and to their family, colleagues and it is only when it is of public interest that you probe into people’s hut.
”For me, it is not a decision that I am happy with, but I felt I have all obligation being a member of Africa Cancer Center and also having donated during the festival of fund raising for cancer, I felt I owe people obligations to make it known and also to de-mystify cancer many people feel it’s death sentence. ”Family, friends and colleagues begin to look at you as if you are a ghost just because you have cancer. No cancer is death sentence, it is curable and I have undergone treatment and I am able to tell you that, even I have a medal to show for it,” he said.
Soyinka, however, appealed to the Federal Government to release the fund already budgeted for cancer treatment and construction of research centres in the country. ”There are many ways of treating cancer just like there are different types of cancer. Even, diet forms an important part of cancer, diet is critical, the most difficult in the middle of treatment of cancer in fact, was a diet which was prescribed.” ”I have to drink a lot of water. The most painful part of it as many of you know is that water and I are not very good friends at least on inside.
”There are many ways of preventable actions for any individual. One of the major reasons why I decided that I would come and make this personal appeal, I happen to know that certain amount of money had been approved for cancer center under Yar’Adua and I want to make a personal appeal that this money be released, not all of us can go round everywhere where we can stop over and have the necessary treatment,” he added.
