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More Women Die From Breast Cancer Yearly

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.

[PEACEFMONLINE]

Kofi Oppong Kyekyeku

I am a Ghanaian Broadcast Journalist/Writer who has an interest in General News, Sports, Entertainment, Health, Lifestyle and many more.

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