The Appearing Professionalgramme Supervisor for Non-Communicable Ailments (NCDs) of the Ghana Well being Service (GHS), Dr Efua Commeh, has appealed to Ghanaians to cease stigmatising individuals with breast most cancers to allow affected people search medical consideration and fight the illness’s excessive loss of life fee.
Her enchantment is in opposition to the againdrop of practically 5,000 circumstances of breast most cancers, that are recorded yearly in Ghana, roughly 50 per cent of victims dying resulting from stigma and late detection.
Dr Commeh was talking on the Ga East Municipal Hospital as a part of actions marking breast most cancers consciousness month, organised by the meeting in partnership with MedyLife Healthcare in Accra yesterday, on the theme: ‘No One Ought to Face Breast Most cancers Alone.’
“Early detection via common medical breast examinations is important in stopping excessive mortality charges, bettering survival charges, and enhancing high quality of life,” she said.
Dr Commeh revealed that breast most cancers circumstances in Ghana reached 5,026, with 2,369 deaths as of 2022.
She harassed that girls aged between 40 and 49 years outdated had been significantly inclined to breast most cancers and advisable common mammograms to mitigate the chance.
Furthermore, Dr Commeh famous that breast most cancers was a illness wherein irregular breast cells grew uncontrolled which unfold to different components of the physique.
“The trigger isn’t religious however almost certainly a fancy interplay of your genetic make-up and your publicity to components that will increase your threat,” she indicated.
Based on Dr Commeh, breast most cancers threat components included early onset menstruation, household breast most cancers historical past, and elevated age.
To scale back the chance of contracting the illness, she mentioned there was a necessity for people to take care of a nutritious diet, keep away from alcohol consumption in addition to smoking.
Dr Commeh inspired younger people to include common self-examinations into their well being routine.
“One per cent of all breast cancers is detected in males, I wish to immediate males that it’s not solely girls who can get breast most cancers, however males can even get the breast most cancers,” she defined.
Dr Commeh famous that males typically delayed in search of medical consideration for breast most cancers, thereby resulting in superior phases and compromised therapy outcomes.
“Look at the breast, look at the nipple. For those who see something irregular, please report, and we’ll deal with it for you”, she malestioned.
The Medical Superintendent of the Ga East Municipal Hospital, Dr Ebenezer Oduro-Mensah, highlighted the alarming prevalence of breast most cancers worldwide, affecting hundreds yearly, and harassed the important function consciousness performed in combating this situation.
He appealed to the general public to face in solidarity with breast most cancers sufferers and chorus from stigmatising victims.
Dr Oduro-Mensah mentioned, “Unity is energy in our combat in opposition to breast most cancers. Let’s stand collectively, no matter gender, to advertise the essential message.”
In attendance had been representatives from the Ghana Industrial Financial institution (GCB), Nursing and Midwifery Council, GHS, Ga East Municipal Meeting (GEMA) political events, market queen moms and key gamers within the public sector.
BY AGNES OWUSU
