I grew up in Enugu, a vibrant, historic city in southeastern Nigeria. Our family was large and full of life — ten siblings in total: seven brothers (myself included) and three sisters. Yes, ours was a big family, even by Nigerian standards.
Chike Nwegbu — "Benchyke" — to most who knew him, was our eldest. He was charismatic, intelligent, and immensely popular. He was an Architect by trade and ran a successful practice in Lagos, which he built with a lot of passion and hard work.
"In 2015, when Chike was 61, following what was supposedly a routine check, he was given the devastating news that he had prostate cancer. Already, it was at stage 4."
He kept this tragic news a secret, not wanting to alarm the rest of the family. None of us knew the full extent of his condition at the time.
True to his characteristic selflessness, he prioritised his wife's care, as she too was sadly battling a form of lymphoma. In time, he travelled to the UK to seek more advanced treatment.
Despite his remarkable courage and unwavering determination, the illness relentlessly wore him down. After a brief but courageous fight, he peacefully slipped away in the early hours of August 17, 2017, surrounded by love.
Chike's passing has etched an indelible sorrow in our family's hearts that will never fade. It has also inspired a quiet devotion and promise in me: to carry his memory forward through a devout dedication to this cause, to spare as many as humanly possible the sorrow and suffering we have known from prostate cancer.
This is our story and provenance.
This is our inspiration. This is our challenge.
This is One-in-Four Prostate Cancer Foundation.
