Betty Anyanwu-Akeredolu, widow of former Ondo State governor Rotimi Akeredolu, has revealed how eliminating starchy foods played a key role in her 27-year battle with breast cancer.
In a post on World Cancer Day on Wednesday, she shared her “mixed grill of triumph and lately of grief” journey, crediting lifestyle changes, medical treatment, and research for her survival.
Akeredolu explained how she avoided foods like eba, amala, akpu, and pounded yam. “If stopping drinking coke and other minerals, swallowing eba, pounded yam, amala and akpu would prolong my life knowing that starchy foods and sugar fuel the growth of cancer, so be it,” she said. “That was exactly what I did. I stopped drinking minerals, no ‘swallow’ and no bread since 2000!”
Since then, she has opted for a diet of vegetables, smoothies, green tea, lemon and ginger tea, beans, moimoi, fish, chicken, snail, rice, and zobo drink.
Akeredolu stressed the importance of maintaining a positive mindset and seeking medical care at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, instead of relying on spiritual healers. She also credited early detection at stage 1 as crucial to her survival.
As founder of the Breast Cancer Association of Nigeria (BRECAN), Akeredolu highlighted the role of Team Survivors Nigeria (TSN), a support group for breast cancer survivors.
Her husband, Rotimi Akeredolu, died from prostate cancer on December 23, 2023.
