ST ANNE MEDIA TEAM

Combining Faith and Health, St Anne, Sasa, hosted a medical talk and check-up event for her parishioners on June 1st, 2025. This is to showcase her commitment to serving the congregation’s spiritual and physical needs. The attendees were offered valuable insights into maintaining good health and also were provided with essential medical screenings.

The health day event was divided into two segments. In the morning, prior to the celebration of the holy Mass, medical check-ups were conducted for parishioners. This provided them an opportunity to assess their health and receive professional advice.

The second segment was a Health Talk, which took place after the Holy Mass. Two Medical Practitioners were invited to deliver informative presentations to the parishioners.

Dr. Adeleye Johnson Adedokun, a Physician and Diabetologist, addressed the topic “Tips for cancer prevention and management“. He started his speech by citing a reference from Psalm 91:16. God’s promise and perfect will for us is Long Life. Anything (especially terminal sicknesses) that negates God’s promise to us should be treated with utmost attention.

Dr. Adedokun noted that Cancer spares nobody. Children and adults alike battle with Cancer. Cancer is also not a respecter of persons as male and female have different types of cancer peculiar to each gender, e.g. breast cancer, ovarian cancer and cervical cancer are dominants among women, while prostrate cancer, lung cancer and colorectal cancer are found more in men. There are also other types of cancer that are not age and gender specific like leukemia and stomach cancer.

He said that, as a medical practitioner, the common questions people ask are “What causes cancer? What can be done to prevent Cancer?” The cause of cancer remains unknown. However, preventive measures can be put in place to ensure good health and a cancer-free life.

“An ounce of cancer prevention is worth a ton of cancer care”, Dr. Adedokun noted. Prevention of cancer and other illnesses is paramount. Prevention is not only better than cure, but simpler, easier, cheaper and wiser. He advocated for the following covert preventive measures:

Avoid tobacco, eat a balanced diet, avoid saturated fats and red meat, include more fruits, vegetables and whole grains in your diet, exercise regularly, take at least 30 minute-walk daily, limit the intake of drinks (alcohol and carbonated drinks) to one bottle per day and twice in a week, avoid contact with radioactive elements, avoid indiscriminate sex (particularly women, to prevent cervical cancer), make quality sleep a priority, get a lot of vitamin D and take lots of water. He further advised that men above 40 years should take Prostrate Rectal Examination annually and teenage girls should take HPV vaccine to prevent the occurrence of cervical cancer.

Dr Adedokun gave some symptoms to watch out for which calls for medical attention. These symptoms are:

C – Change in bowel/bladder habits

A – A sore that does not heal

U – Unusual bleeding or discharges

T – Thickening or lumps in breasts and other regions of the body

I – Indigestion and difficulty in swallowing

O – Obvious change in moles

N – Nagging cough or hoarseness

Dr. Adedokun ended his address by admonishing the parishioners to make their health a priority.

The Second Speaker, Dr Francisca Chinyere Adebayo is a Professional Nurse and a Community Health Practitioner. Her lecture was to address “Breast Self-Examination and Stress Management”. Dr Adebayo noted that Nigerians’ attitude to prevention of illness is not encouraging as many people get spurred to action when they start experiencing symptoms. She noted that it’s not only women that have breast cancer, though it is a very rare occurrence in men. She encouraged the men to also conduct Breast Self-Examination on themselves.

Dr Adebayo buttressed the preventive measures spelt out by Dr Adedokun. She emphasized on the importance of eating healthy and always having breakfast.

On Stress Management, She gave some helpful tips to manage stress and have a stable mental health. She encouraged the parishioners to get enough sleep, improve bond and connection with family and friends, listen to healthy and soul lifting music, setting achievable and realistic goals and being grateful to God at all times.

The Parish Priest, Rev. Fr. Peter Ajeigbe gave the vote of thanks and gave an exhortation from the book of Sirach chapter 38. He advised the parishioners to strike a balance between faith and health. People are to go to the hospital when they notice unpleasant changes in their bodies, and not to Churches.