October is celebrated as Breast Cancer Awareness Month, throughout the month, organizations, groups, and other societal groups across the world organize events to help increase attention and support for awareness, early diagnosis, and treatment as well as palliative care for women facing this disease.
Due to this, the Teachers and Education Workers Union (TEWU) of TUC-Ghana on Monday 19th Oct held breast cancer awareness day at Koforidua GNAT Hall.
According to the Ag-General Secretary of TEWU, Mr. Mark Korankye-Dankyira, early diagnosis remains the cornerstone of breast cancer control. When found early, and if adequate diagnosis and treatment are available, there is a good chance that breast cancer can be cured. If detected late, however, curative treatment is often no longer an option.
He said, in such cases, treatment may improve quality of life and delay disease progression, while supportive and palliative care should be readily available to relieve suffering for patients and their families.
Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women worldwide and is the most common cause of cancer among women in most countries.
It’s believed that in low- and middle-income countries the incidence has been rising steadily due to increased life expectancy, changing reproductive patterns (such as later age at first childbirth and less breastfeeding), and the adoption of western lifestyles.
Madam Theodora Dede Amanor (Gender and Youth Coordinator) said they are doing this to intensify awareness of the disease and also encourage more women to conduct regular self-examination of their breasts for the early detection and treatment of breast cancer.
“You can beat breast cancer; many have survived it” she averred.
Meanwhile, Midwives from Koforidua polyclinic educated the public that it is true that an entire diseased breast would be cut off when a patient went for treatment, saying treatment depended on the stage the disease had reached.
They said early breast cancer was usually not painful, and that early breast cancer can be removed without removing the whole breast.
“Early signs of breast cancer can be a lump in a breast, a painful breast or armpit, or a discharge from the nipple. According to doctors, even if none of these symptoms present themselves a doctor should be visited to be sure” they added.
The participants commended the leaders of TEWU for such an educated program.
Source: Mybrytfmonline/Evans Boateng
