Low resource countries faced with the burden of cancer care, poor patient follow-up and poor psychosocial support can cash in on this to overcome the persistent problem of poor communication in their healthcare delivery. The potential is enormous to enhance the use of mobile phones in novel ways: developing helpline numbers that can be called for cancer information from prevention to treatment to palliative care. The ability to reach out by mobile phone to a reliable source for medical information about cancer is something that the international community, having experience with helplines, should undertake with colleagues in Africa, who are experimenting with the mobile phone potential.

These results indicated that married African women face significant physical, emotional and social changes and difficulties following primary breast cancer treatment. Culturally sensitive therapeutic groups and interventions should be established to help Nigerian women with breast cancer and their spouses and families understand and cope with the disease and its long-term health and quality-of-life implications.

Umbilical hernia is a common problem in children, particularly in Africans, but complications in these hernias are thought to be rare. In a retrospective study of 47 children presenting for umbilical hernia repair in 14 years, 30 had complications. The complications included acute incarceration 15, recurrent incarceration 10 and spontaneous evisceration 5. Of the 15 with acute incarceration, 2 required bowel resection for gangrene, and an abscess formed in the hernia sac in one. The age of patients with acute incarceration was 2 months-8 years (median 5 years). The 10 with recurrent incarceration were aged 1-3 years (median 3 years). Of the 5 with spontaneous evisceration, one had umbilical sepsis and another intestinal obstruction from intussusception. These patients were aged 3-12 weeks (median 7 weeks). All the complications occurred in hernias that were 1.5 cm or more in diameter. The hernias were repaired using standard methods. Postoperatively, 2 patients developed wound infection. There was no mortality. Though complications of umbilical hernias appear to be rare, there is a need for more active observation of these hernias to identify complications early and treat promptly to avoid morbidity.

BackgroundSeveral factors considered to be barriers to cancer pain management have been reported in the past. The knowledge of cancer pain management may be a hindrance to the proper assessment and treatment of pain in cancer patients.Objective:This report presents an evaluation of the knowledge and practice of cancer pain management among medical practitioners in Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Shika, Zaria.Methods:This report involves medical practitioners at the Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital who are directly involved in the management of cancer patients. Information was obtained using a structured questionnaire, and the data were analyzed using SPSS (version 11.5).Results:The response rate to the questionnaire was 82%, with an age range of 23 to 50 years (mean age, 34.9), and the majority of actual respondents, 55 (67%), were male. Thirty-six (44%) strongly agreed that cancer patients require pain relief. Yet only 40% of the respondents routinely conducted pain assessments among cancer patients, while 51% only treated when patients complained of pain. Concerning the type of analgesic commonly used for cancer patients, 43% used weak opioids, 32% used NSAIDs, and only 20% used strong opioids. Seventy-five respondents (91.5%) had no formal training on pain management.Conclusion:The knowledge of pain management for cancer patients among medical personnel at the Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital appears to be elementary. We recommend that formal training in the form of lectures, seminars, and workshops on cancer pain management should be part of continuing medical education in low-resource settings like the Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital.

Majority of the residents are sponsored by the training institutions.