Nigerian Doctor Pioneers Cancer Treatment for Africa

When a patient used her taxi fare for groceries instead of cancer surgery, Dr. Abba Mallum's career changed forever.

The young Nigerian woman had visited Mallum's free clinic in Borno State with a breast lump. He paid for her taxi to a hospital 150 kilometers away and arranged her treatment. Eight months later, he found her dying in that same hospital.

Her mother had taken back most of the taxi money after learning the lump didn't hurt. The family hadn't eaten in three days. By the time Mallum saw her again, the cancer had spread beyond cure.

"She said to me: 'You told me if I don't remove this thing it could kill me. And now, this thing is killing me,'" Mallum recalls. The encounter kept him awake past midnight, wrestling with a devastating reality: his region of 22 million people had no oncology units and no radiation machines.

That sleepless night in 2014 became his turning point. Unable to specialize in oncology in Nigeria due to limited infrastructure, Mallum found opportunity at South Africa's Stellenbosch University. He completed a four-year Master of Medicine in radiation oncology, then pushed further.

His PhD at the University of KwaZulu-Natal made history as the first doctorate in radiotherapy and oncology completed in South Africa. The research tackled a critical question: Can shorter radiation treatments used in wealthy countries work safely for African patients who face additional challenges like HIV?

Why This Inspires

Mallum's work represents more than personal achievement. His research directly addresses why African cancer patients face some of the world's worst survival rates. Shorter treatment courses mean fewer trips to distant hospitals, lower costs, and better access for patients like the young woman who haunts his memory.

Now a consulting oncologist at Inkosi Albert Luthuli Central Hospital in Durban, Mallum greets patients in Zulu and continues researching solutions for resource-limited settings. His mentor, Professor Hannah Simonds, whom he calls "the mother of oncology in Africa," helped shape his approach to expanding cancer care across the continent.

The young woman who chose dinner over treatment didn't live to see the change she inspired, but her legacy grows with every patient who benefits from Mallum's pioneering work in making cancer treatment more accessible across Africa.