Dr Beatrice Wiafe Addai, President of Breast care International, says
2,900 Ghanaians are diagnosed of breast cancer every year and half of
that number die from the disease. She said the number represents only
those who report at the hospitals because many patients seek treatment
from other sources such as prayer camps and shrines. "We are not
saying prayers are bad but our appeal is for them to use prayer to
support what medical doctors do at the hospitals," she said. Dr Wiafe
Addai, who was speaking on Wednesday during the launch of the UT Bank
Pledge Pink 2013 Campaign in Accra, said most of the deaths were
caused by ignorance and misconceptions about the disease. The Pledge
Pink Campaign, which is to help raise awareness on breast cancer in
Ghana, is an initiative of the Bank, and was launched in 2010 in
collaboration with the Cancer Society of Ghana. The launch also
coincided with the unveiling of a 100,000 Mobile Screening Van, which
was acquired by the Pledge Pink Campaign to reach out to those in the
hinterlands for screening. Dr Wiafe Addai said breast cancer is a
global issue and stressed the need for stakeholders to come together
to help fight the disease. She said the incidence among men in Ghana
is around one to three per cent while in Nigeria it is five per cent.
Dr Addai called on corporate bodies to support efforts to educate the
people about the disease. "Cancer is a curable and a preventable
disease if diagnosed early and I would like to use this opportunity to
appeal to our women to seek early treatment. "We must talk about the
breast cancer and ensure that the education and awareness creation
goes down and far to the people. Many people claim they do not know
about the disease and they are right because those of us who are
informed are not talking about it, "she said. Dr Addai said "diseases
like malaria and tuberculosis would one day leave us but breast cancer
would continue to live with us", and urged all to start talking about
it to achieve positive impact.
