Peter Dada, Akure
A professor of Chemistry from the University of Ibadan, Joseph Okogun, has said that neither surgery nor orthodox medicine can completely cure cancer.
According to him, the best cure for cancer is herbal medicine.
Okogun, who said that cancer had become a major cause of disability and death in the world especially in Nigeria, disclosed that there were two anti-cancer herbal remedies in the market at the moment.
The professor, who was speaking at a public lecture organised by the University of Medical Science, Ondo, Ondo State, said, “All the treatment methods (for cancer) have their respective side effects whose severities vary from one person to another.
“There has been a great improvement in the surgical procedure and most of the surgeries to remove the prostate (for prostate cancer) or cut the tube that supplies testosterone to the prostate are successful.
“However in most cases the cancer may later return, even after surgery.”
Okogun, who was a former Director, National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development, also disclosed that many Nigerian plants and herbs used as foods or traditional medicines had been found to be anti-cancer, saying, “eating such foods could help reduce the incidence of cancer in the country.”
In his remarks, Vice Chancellor of UNIMED, Prof. Friday Okonofua, said through its herbal medicines research initiative, the institution will establish one of the most comprehensive herbal farms in the country that would document all known potential active medicinal plants in a single location.
He said, “We will also establish a laboratory for primary research to test the potential efficacy of the herbal plants in various animal models and thereafter isolate the active biochemical ingredients using modern and up-to-date laboratory techniques.”
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