According to WHO, Cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide, accounting for nearly 10 million deaths in 2020. The most prevalent cancers include prostate, breast, lung, colon, and rectum.
Breast cancer took the lives of 685,000 individuals globally in 2020, affecting 2.3 million women. Breast cancer had been detected in 7.8 million women over the preceding five years. It was the most prevalent cancer in the world as of the year 2020.
According to health professionals, Nigeria experiences around 72,000 cancer-related fatalities each year. The biggest fatality rate from breast cancer is due to late discovery, according to medical professionals.
When Kemisola Bolarinwa, a robotics engineer, lost her aunt to stage 3 breast cancer in 2017. She made the decision to take action to help other women. In February 2022, she invented a smart bra to detect breast cancer.
Kemisola said 9 out of 10 cancer cases can be cured if detected timely. She said the bra takes the reading of the breast and chest wall and translates the result to a mobile application in half an hour.
The prototype was launched in February and is in trials to get responses from all over the world.
In order to employ the tool in neighborhood clinics where women can walk in and get screened, Bolarinwa is looking for a government partnership.
The National Institute of Cancer Research and Treatment was established in 2017 after a bill was passed by Nigeria's president. The following year authorities began a four-year 200 million dollar cancer control program to promote early diagnosis and treatment. Cancer Advocate Runcie Chidebe, Project Pink Blue Executive Director, said the program was underfunded and poorly implemented.
The Medicaid Cancer Foundation’s Fatima Dambatta explains that preserved foods, not exercising, and poor diets are contributing factors to a rise in cancer cases. She emphasizes the importance of making people aware of breast cancer screening programs.
Bolarinwa expects that her innovation will be helpful for women in breast cancer detection in early stages and therefore can be cured timely.
