The Only Way We Can Go is Up: Improving Screening and Management of Female Cancers
March 5, 2025 | Hear from her, Women in Leadership, oncology, podcast
One of the toughest challenges of educating many African women about female cancers and disease prevention is overcoming cultural biases, as well as shame, stigma, and misinformation. Here’s how two global leaders in oncology and women’s health, Dr. Zainab Shinkafi-Bagudu and Dr. Nermean Mostafa, are making headway.
“There is a misconception about oncology that it’s a depressive, very sad branch of medicine,” says Dr. Nermean Mostafa, lecturer of Clinical Oncology at Ain Shams University in Cairo, Egypt, and member of the scientific and executive committee of the Presidential Initiative of Cancer, Early Detection and Management. “But to me it’s extremely dynamic, and rewarding. You develop a special, very strong bond with your patients and their caregivers. To them you are God in the Sky.” Those relationships, plus new drug developments that are improving patient outcomes, are the tools to change people’s lives.
Listen to Episode 1 of Season 3 here.
Dr. Zainab Shinkafi-Bagudu, our other guest on this episode focusing on female cancer awareness and prevention, is living proof. After training as a pediatrician in the UK, and self-specializing in neonatology, Dr. Bagudu returned to her native Nigeria, “ready to take on all the children, malnutrition.” What she didn’t expect? That many of the mothers who brought their kids to her hospital would confide their own intimate health concerns to her: a breast lump, a funny discharge. They just saw me as a woman who happens to be a healthcare provider, whom they could share their problems with, she says.
What stunned her was the women’s lack of awareness around their health, particularly breast health. Recognizing a dire need for education, she and a few colleagues took on the challenge, but it soon became apparent that she couldn’t do that plus run her pediatric clinic. So she started the non-profit Medicaid Cancer Foundation in northern Nigeria, and it grew steadily from there. “We rose to fill a need that I discovered through my clinical practice,” she says.
Dr. Bagudu, who is also president-elect of the Union for International Cancer Control, and Dr. Mostafa are passionate about moving the needle, raising awareness about cancer screenings in their part of the world, so it’s detected early and survivors thrive. And the stigma and shame—which are huge—disappear.
“In my language, the local name for cancer is ‘disease of the forest,’ a disease of the wild,” says Dr. Bagudu. “In typical African societies, there’s a belief that illness has supernatural roots rather than a medical cause,” she explains. “Even the most educated people will often come at you with those kinds of ideas,” including in middle-class cities, where you don’t expect it. When it comes to healthcare, women tend to go to places that are faith-based or even to traditional healers, rather than seeking conventional medical care.
Listen to Episode 1 of Season 3 here.
Both Bagudu and Mostafa say they’re laser focused not just on increasing awareness around cancer and disease progression, but also making sure the information is explained in a way that is “contextually, easily digested.” And the education process must begin in childhood, they say, because statistics show that better educated girls grow up to be more empowered, confident women. That dynamic supports better health outcomes not only for the women themselves but also for their families and, ultimately, the community.
If we stay positive and keep moving forward, they say, “the only way we can go is up.”
Listen to Episode 1 of Season 3 here.
Hosted by Jelena Spyropoulos, Vice President at Medscape Education
Follow us on LinkedIn for updates on upcoming podcasts and more insightful conversations. For more information, please contact Jelena Spyropoulos.
Catch up on Season 1 and Season 2 on:
Apple
Spotify
Medscape
About Medscape Education
Medscape Education (medscape.org) is the leading destination for continuous professional development, consisting of more than 30 specialty-focused destinations offering thousands of free accredited CME and CE courses for physicians, nurses, and other healthcare professionals.
This content was provided by Medscape Education
Company Details
Latest Content from Medscape Education
Medscape Oncology Launches Inaugural Medscape Fellows Program at ASCO 2024
Medscape Oncology is excited to announce the launch of the first-ever Medscape Fellows Program at the 2024 ASCO meeting in Chicago, Illinois. This groundbreaking program aims to nurture young oncology...
Navigating Food Allergy Management: Trends, Treatments, and Decision-Making
Are you having trouble navigating the management of food allergies? Join our faculty experts for a live conversation on social media to learn about the evolving complexities in food allergy...
The Power of Patient Insights to Improve Cancer Care
Two global patient advocacy groups—The Lymphoma Coalition and Lung Cancer Europe— are compiling data from their communities on the real-world experience of living with cancer. What the data reveals sometimes...
Medscape Education Continues Its Patient-Centric Mission at EHA 2024
Anticipation is building at Medscape Education as the team prepares for the EHA 2024 Congress. Medscape Education is excited to announce a significant presence during the congress including a Medscape...
Getting in-sync with Public Health at SYNC 2024
Medscape Education is bringing its public health efforts to Washington, DC for the SYNC conference on HIV, HCV, STIs, Harm Reduction, and LGBTQ health. During the conference, Lindsey will present...
Medscape Education and KDIGO Nephrology Collaboration Accelerates Improvements to Patient Care
Ahead of the 61st European Renal Association (ERA) Congress, Medscape Education and KDIGO (Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes) announce an educational collaboration through a series of webinars to improve anemia-related...
Medscape Brings Impact and Data to ESPGHAN
The ESPGHAN Congress in Milan was full of impact as Medscape Education Global presented 5 scientific posters examining the outcomes of their education. The posters detailed the impact Medscape Education...
Empowering Nurses Through Education
Nurse education is powerful and makes an impact.
Pioneering Paths: Women Leadership in Rare Disease
Rare diseases are often thought of as affecting one in 100,000 or one in 1,000,000 people, and that is true for some conditions. But there are many rare diseases that...
TRANSFORMING CME IMPACT: MEDSCAPE’S GAME-CHANGING APPROACH
It’s time for the CME industry to evolve. During recent years, access to data, modern technologies, and methodologies have allowed for deeper analysis of data and a better understanding of...