Report Breast Cancer Cases Early – First Lady Advices Women

The First Lady of the Republic of Ghana, Mrs Rebecca Akufo-Addo has said that Ghana may suffer an upsurge in Breast Cancer deaths if cases are not reported to health centres on time.

According to Mrs Akufo-Addo, the projection of false treatment over proper medical check-up prevented victims from reporting early.

This she said has played a grand role in the death of more than 1000 women, every year.

She made this submission at the launch of the Breast Cancer Awareness Month at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH) on Monday.

“There are a lot of misconceptions about the disease as well as false claims on treatment… as a result, many women end up in the hospital after trying other treatments; by this time, their cancers are no more curable,” the first lady said.

Mrs Akufo-Addo therefore called on the general public to disregard any of such false claims adding that, “over 90 per cent of patients with early breast cancer treated in KBTH, survived the diseases.”

The first lady lauded the KBTH for the proactive awareness crusade and said it may help clients to respond quickly so that “they can experience a very supportive environment for their treatment and recovery.”

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

In Ghana, October is marked as the Breast Awareness month and the KBTH is embarking on a one-month intensive awareness strategy that they believe, will help curb the menace.

According to the Head of the Department of Surgery at KBTH, Professor Joe-Nat Clegg-Lamptey, “they have a dedicated team of volunteers covering over 100 doctors and nurses who have decided to help campion the cause.”

In outlining the activities for the Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Prof. Clegg-Lamptey said the KBTH was partnering with over 15 hospitals to provide breast screening and examination to the public.

He added that severe case may receive mammogram and ultra-scan services but for a fee.

These breast screening activities are expected to extend to the market places and organisations that may request for it.

Some of the hospitals are 37 Military Hospital, Accra Regional Hospital, Trust Hospital, Nyaho Medical Centre and Lister Hospital.

The others are, Inkoom Hospital, Lekma Hospital, Legon Hospital, Ho Regional Hospital and Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital.

Prof. Clegg- Lamptey advised the general public to take this opportunity to check their breast cancer status.

For those who may want to speak with a Doctor about the disease, a Toll- Free number―0800100100 was made available.

Breast Cancer Statistics in Ghana

Alarming statistics by the World Health Organisation (WHO) reveals over 2,000 Ghanaian women are diagnosed with breast cancer and out of the number, 50 per cent of the cases, die.

Source: Grace Ablewor Sogbey/ [email protected]