Playwright & Nobel Laureate, Wole Soyinka Diagnosed With Cancer

Renowned playwright and Nobel Laureate, Prof. Oluwole Soyinka, yesterday, November 25th, opened up on his health status, saying he was diagnosed of cancer last December. The legendary writer who revealed his cancer status at a press conference at the June 12 Cultural Centre, Abeokuta, Ogun State, said he had decided to open up so as to create awareness about cancer disease and to help people take measures to prevent it or seek prompt medical attention for cure.

The Nobel Laureate said he survived the silent killer disease because of early detection, treatment and proper dieting, adding that it has also dawned on him that the family has a history of cancer ailment. He noted that his initial reaction when it dawned on that he has cancer was to see it as one of those challenges and nuisance that should be dealt with, adding that a time he considered it “an unwanted squatter in his body and had to get rid of it whether it is a slow growing one or malignant.”

While not hinting at the kind or extent of cancer he has, Soyinka's son, Dr. Olaokun Soyinka, Commissioner for Health in Ogun State, told The Nation his father was treated for “prostate cancer.”