- Doctor Olusina Ajidahun says palliative care may be recommended for some patients with stage-four cancer after available treatments have been explored.
- Ogogo’s daughters, Lima and Kira Taiwo, appealed for medical help after revealing that their father’s cancer had reached stage four.
- The doctor warned against unverified herbal remedies, saying they could worsen a seriously ill patient’s condition.
A doctor, Olusina Ajidahun, has explained the meaning of palliative care following emotional appeals by the daughters of veteran Nollywood actor Taiwo Hassan, popularly known as Ogogo, over their father’s stage-four cancer diagnosis.
Eko Hot Blog reports that the daughters, Lima and Kira Taiwo, recently took to Instagram to seek medical assistance for their father, saying his condition had deteriorated and that hospitals were no longer offering further treatment.
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However, Ajidahun, who is known on X as The Bearded Dr Sina, said the statement that hospitals had “refused to treat” Ogogo could be misunderstood.
According to him, patients diagnosed with advanced cancer may be moved to palliative care when chemotherapy and other available treatment options have been exhausted or are no longer considered suitable.
He explained that palliative care focuses on managing symptoms, relieving pain and improving a patient’s quality of life, particularly when the underlying disease can no longer be cured.
The doctor said portraying the situation as though medical professionals had deliberately abandoned the actor could create unnecessary hostility towards healthcare workers.
Ajidahun stressed that stage-four cancer means the disease has spread from its original site to other parts of the body, making treatment decisions more complex.
He also urged members of the public not to recommend unverified herbal mixtures as alternatives to established cancer care.
According to him, there are no proven herbal remedies that can cure stage-four cancer, while unregulated concoctions could potentially cause additional complications or damage other organs.
Ajidahun clarified that he was not involved in Ogogo’s treatment and was only responding independently to videos posted by the actor’s daughters.
Lima had earlier appealed to anyone with access to medical professionals or facilities capable of treating her father to come to the family’s aid.
She said the family was not seeking financial donations but medical intervention that could give their father another chance.
“We are not here to ask for money. Nobody’s here to ask for money,” Lima said while appealing for help.
She added that the family only became aware of the seriousness of Ogogo’s condition about three weeks earlier, saying his appearance had not suggested the severity of his illness.
In a separate video, Kira disclosed that her father’s cancer was at stage four and appealed to anyone who could provide further medical treatment to contact the family.
She said the family was desperate to find a treatment option and revealed that Ogogo had expressed fear of dying.
The emotional appeals have generated widespread concern among fans and colleagues in the Nigerian entertainment industry.
Ogogo, 66, is a veteran Yoruba actor whose career spans more than four decades. He has appeared in more than 300 films and remains one of the most recognisable figures in Yoruba-language cinema.
As the family continues to seek help, Ajidahun urged them to work closely with the medical team managing the actor’s condition while ensuring that decisions about his care are guided by qualified healthcare professionals.
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