About 10,000 health-conscious individuals converged at Tepa, in the Ahafo Ano North Municipality of Ashanti, to take part in this year’s breast cancer walk on the theme, ‘Breast Cancer Won’t Rest, Why Should We?’.
Some of the participants were from Canada, The Netherlands, Germany and other countries to join Ghanaians and they included traditional leaders and students.
The 10th edition of the walk to increase awareness about breast cancer and also celebrated survivorship of some affected persons.
It also offered opportunity for hundreds of women to have free screening to know their breast cancer status.
Dr Beatrice Wiafe-Addai, Chairperson of the Ghana Non Communicable Diseases Alliance (GhNCDA), told the gathering she was worried that lots of women were still wasting away at homes, prayer camps and unapproved treatment centres.
She called on all and sundry to be part of the crusade to wage a war on breast cancer to save the number of women dying from the disease.
Dr Wiafe-Addai, also the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Peace and Love Hospital and Breast Care International(BCI), a non-governmental organisation, pointed out that “breast cancer does not stay in the breast alone and (so) there cannot be any primary treatment but secondary treatment, which is early detection and prompt action.”
“It is about time breast cancer was given the needed attention after COVID-19, as the number one killer of women,” she said.
Dr Wiafe-Addai advised women to conduct self-breast examinations and report abnormalities for early treatment, underlining the fact that “you can survive breast cancer; it is not a curse, it is one of the non-communicable diseases.”
The National Coordinator of the National Disaster Management Organisation, Nana Agyemang-Prempeh, said breast cancer was a national disaster and so much attention needed to be given to it for the sake of women’s survival.
The Paramount Chief of Tepa, Nana Adusei Atwenewa Ampem, called on the government to support the efforts of BCI in the fight against breast cancer.
He announced the readiness of the traditional council to offer land to BCI for a cancer health facility.
FROM KINGSLEY E.HOPE, KUMASI
