Nobel Laureate was once diagnosed with cancer

monjola sotubo

November 25, 2014 6:01 PM

Wole Soyinka recently revealed that he was diagnosed with the deadly disease in December 2013 but became free of the ailment just last month.

Wole Soyinka has revealed that he once battled with Cancer.

The renowned Nigerian Nobel Laureate revealed this during a June 12 Cultural Centre press conference in Abeokuta, Ogun State on Tuesday, November 25, adding that he received the diagnosis in December 2013.

The 80-year-old playwright reportedly stated that he had chosen to speak up about his condition in order to raise awareness about the disease.

"It never occurred to me to test myself because men have their separate test like women and I have heard people who lost very dear ones, closed ones. They just told me, ‘Prof, we hope you’re having your own?’ And I told them I had one 10 years ago and he said, “No, no, do it regularly.” And by accident in December last year, I discovered that I had cancer", he narrated.

Soyinka says thanks to early detection and compliance with medications, (which he completed on October 28, 2014) he became free of the ailment just last month.

"Many people feel it is a death sentence. Family feel it; friends, colleagues, they begin to look at you as if you are a ghost once there is rumour you have cancer. No, cancer is not a death sentence, it is curable, I have undergone the treatment and I am able to tell you that I even have a model, that’s my certificate.” he explained.

He also spoke on the need for early detection which he said has helped him survive so far along with medical treatment and a proper diet.

The Nobel Laureate stated that he saw cancer as “an unwanted squatter in his body and had to get rid of it whether it is a slow growing one or malignant.”

Professor Soyinka did not disclose the exact kind of cancer he was diagnosed with but his son, Dr. Olaokun Soyinka, who is the Commissioner for Health in Ogun State, reportedly told The Nation that his father was battling prostate cancer.

monjola sotubo

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