Govt urged to champion breast cancer awareness
Members of the Phenomenal Women Social Club (PWSC) have organised a three-kilometre walk in support of the breast cancer awareness creation campaign, as part of activities by the club to mark this year’s breast cancer awareness month.
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The group participated in the walk through the zig-zag road of the rocky Aburi Mountain to the final destination at the Kitase Lorry Park. While some showed endurance to reach the end, others could not keep up and had to be helped to complete the exercise with bus rides provided for such purpose.
The PWSC is a social club for entrepreneurs and professional women of 35 years and above with a core mandate to support and promote the general well-being of its members in all spheres of life.
In an interview with the Daily Graphic last Saturday after the health walk at Kitase, the President of the PWSC, Mrs Emelia Osei-Yeboah, called on the government to take an active role in the breast cancer awareness campaign in the country.
That, she said, could be done with the government forming a strong partnership with stakeholder groups such as the PWSC to help intensify awareness of the disease.
Available statistics
Mrs Osei-Yeboah pointed out that, available statistics indicated that the disease was on the increase, hence the need for intensified advocacy and educational campaigns which would help reduce the prevalence rate.
She implored Ghanaian women to discard the myth and misconceptions about the disease and rather take advantage of science and technology to save and prolong their lives.
She said it was unacceptable in this era of information and communications technology for people not to avail themselves to the prevention and care of breast cancer.
“Stop taking concoctions and anointing oil from spiritualists and pastors and seek medical treatment for the disease,” she advised affected women.
Periodic breast examination
The president said deaths resulting from breast cancer in developed countries had reduced, hence efforts should be made to create awareness of the disease in the country in view of the fact that every 69 seconds, a woman dies from breast cancer in Africa with 60 per cent of patients in the menopause stage.
Mrs Osei-Yeboah advised women of all ages to show concern about their health and undergo mammography and breast examination once every month to facilitate early detection and prevention, stressing that: “The government must also make a deliberate attempt to help sensitize the citizenry to the disease.”