The surgery exercise which commenced on Tuesday will continue on Thursday at the same facility.
Speaking on Tuesday during the commencement of the procedures, Dr Amosun said the foundation had screened 655 people earlier in September.
According to her, 81 cases of cervical-related health concerns and 53 breast-related cases were identified during the screening exercise.
She explained that further examinations by surgeons established that 30 of the women with breast-related conditions required surgical removal of their lumps.
“After further screening by the surgeons, we discovered that 30 have to be excised, to be removed, and that is what we are doing here today,” she said.
According to her, the procedures are completely free, with her husband, the former governor, sponsoring the cost of the surgeries through the foundation.
“It is completely free of charge to the patients. It is a promise made, a promise kept. His Excellency, Senator Ibikunle Amosun always bear the cost of removing the lumps,” she added.
Dr Amosun further described the initiative as a source of personal fulfilment and an expression of her commitment to humanitarian service, noting that the foundation had sustained its cancer awareness, advocacy and screening programmes since 2012.
“Since the inception of the programme, what it means to me is fulfilment and service to humanity. We have been doing this since 2012,” she said.
She explained that the foundation initially concentrated on cancer awareness, advocacy and screening but later expanded its intervention to include free surgical procedures for women whose breast lumps required removal.
She said the decision to introduce free lumpectomy procedures was informed by the need to bridge the gap between detecting health conditions and ensuring that affected women received appropriate treatment.
Emphasising the importance of regular screening, the former first lady said early detection remained critical to managing cancer and other potentially life-threatening conditions.
“There is no cure for cancer, but the best approach is early detection. That is why we carry out the screening year in, year out, so that we can nip it in the bud,” she said.
She also commended the medical personnel involved in the screening and surgical interventions for their contributions to the success of the programme.
A paediatric oncologist at FMC, Abeokuta, Dr Morufat Ogundeyi, expressed concern over the number of breast lumps detected during the exercise, noting that the figure was higher than the approximately 15 cases that the foundation had typically recorded for surgical intervention in previous exercises.
Ogundeyi urged members of the public to take cancer awareness and regular medical screening seriously, stressing that early diagnosis could facilitate timely medical attention.
She also noted that cancer affects both children and adults, underscoring the need for greater awareness and access to appropriate healthcare across age groups.
One of the beneficiaries, Aminat Adebesin, expressed gratitude to the foundation and its sponsors, saying the intervention had relieved her of the financial burden associated with the surgery.
Adebesin said she had discovered the lump only recently and might have struggled to obtain prompt treatment without the foundation’s support.
She described the free procedure as a major relief and thanked those responsible for making the intervention possible.
The organisers revealed that beneficiaries and participants came from different locations, including Lagos and Oyo State.
They also assured that tissue samples from removed lumps would undergo further laboratory investigation to determine the appropriate next steps in each patient's care.
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