Many lives have been lost to cancer. The illness is no respecter of age, status or financial standing and very few people come out as survivors.
The first Tuesday in December of every year, #GivingTuesdayNG is observed as a day to engender and celebrate generosity towards those living with cancer.
In commemoration of 2015 #GivingTuesdayNG activities, we profile 5 great men and women whose lives, though cut short by cancer, were incredible gifts to mankind.
1.Steve Jobs
The genius in Jobs produced the iPod, iPad, iPhone, Apple Watch and other innovative Apple products that we use today.
Steve Jobs died in October 2011. He lived with pancreatic cancer for 7 years before passing away.
- Tayo Aderinokun
Along with Fola Adeola, Aderinokun founded Guaranty Trust Bank in 1990, a bank that has become one of the leading financial institutions in Africa.
He passed on in 2011 after battling with lung cancer.
- Bob Marley
The Jamaican Reggae legend did not only produce evergreen hits; he was actively involved in the fight for human rights.
Marley died in May 1981 after a four-year battle with Melanoma (also known as skin cancer).
- Jackie Collins
Jackie Collins is one of the world’s top-selling novelists that was known to give her readers a thorough insider’s knowledge of Hollywood and the glamorous lives (and loves) of the rich, famous, and infamous.
The international bestselling romance novelist died of breast cancer in September 2015.
- Dora Akunyili
The internationally renowned pharmacist changed the face of National Agency of Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and made food and drugs safer to take in in Nigeria during her reign as director general.
Akunyili died of uterine cancer in June 2014.