The Nigerian Bar Association Women Forum (NBAWF), Edo State Chapter, in collaboration with St. Augustine Medical Center, Bisam Care Foundation and the Nigeria Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ), Edo State Chapter, on Saturday, October 17, 2026, held a massive health walk in Benin City to raise awareness on cancer prevention, early detection and management.
The walk, themed “WALK. CHECK. LIVE. PINK STEPS, STRONG WOMEN”*, flagged off at 7:00 a.m. from the High Court/NBA House, moved through major streets with a brief stopover at the NUJ Press Centre, and climaxed at King’s Square (Ring Road).
Leading the rally were Mrs. Bridget Imuetinyanosa Iguodala, Edo State Lead of NBAWF; Dr. Michael Osahumen Orhue, Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist; Comrade Habiba Aniekan Sam, Chairperson of NAWOJ, Edo State Chapter; and Dr. Samson Osagie, Chairman, BISAM Care Foundation.
The rally drew stakeholders from the legal, medical and media communities.
In her address, Mrs. Iguodala lauded the Foundation for its sustained intervention in cancer care, particularly its assistance to indigent cancer patients at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH) and its relentless drive for routine screenings. She explained that cancer continues to ravage both women and men, with high prevalence of breast and cervical cancers in women and prostate and colorectal cancers in men.
She said the walk, under the motto “Lawyers Who Walk The Talk Against Cancer”, was to reassure the public that early detection makes cancer highly manageable and curable.
Also speaking, Comrade Habiba Sam said NAWOJ remains committed to women’s well-being, noting that good health is the greatest gift, and emphasized that a cancer diagnosis is not a death sentence when detected early.
Dr. Samson Osagie also lauded the initiative and restated the commitment of BISAM Care Foundation to humanitarian support. He said the initiative was timely and life-saving. As one who has, through BISAM Care Foundation, been at the forefront of free cancer screenings, medical outreach and patient support in Edo State, he noted that awareness can never be over-emphasised.
He reiterated the Foundation’s commitment to promoting routine clinical breast examinations, ultrasounds, mammograms, Pap smears and biopsies for early detection.
Medical experts at the rally, including Dr. Alare Enoma Edosa, listed family history, increasing age and being female as risk factors, and encouraged yearly mammograms for high-risk women and routine tests for prostate cancer in men.
The highpoint was at Ring Road when a middle-aged woman, Mrs. Tawa Akin, who confided that she had been experiencing pain in her left breast, was immediately linked by the NAWOJ Chairperson to the medical team from St. Augustine Medical Center and the BISAM Care Foundation team for attention.
Some of the inscriptions on the placards carried during the rally read: Early Detection Saves Lives; Get Checked, Stay Alive; Fight Cancer With Courage; Cancer Is Curable If Caught Early; Screen Today, Smile Tomorrow; Your Life Matters, Get Screened; Lawyers, Doctors, Journalists Against Cancer Edo Walks;and Pink Steps, Strong Women.
