Six cases of breast cancer detected at Asesewa

Six cases of breast cancer infection with one being at an advanced stage have been detected at Asesewa in the Upper Manya Krobo District after 85 women were screened.

Ms Jane Kwapong, Eastern Regional Director of the Department of Women, said this during the exercise conducted by the Eastern Regional Secretariat of the Department of Women, adding that breast cancer affects women exclusively, accounting for 99 per cent of total reported cases.

The detection of the cases followed a free breast cancer screening and education programme organized for over 120 women including students from the Asesewa Senior High School (SHS) at Asesewa on Friday.

Ms Kwapong said though all the six women were referred to the Asesewa Government Hospital for further testing and treatment, one in eight women would develop breast cancer in their lifetime while worldwide a woman dies every 13 minutes from the disease.

She said in Ghana the figures were not different but the challenge was the delay in reporting, which was often done late when the disease had reached an advanced stage.

She appealed to women not to run to prayer camps but seek prompt medical care when they suspected that something was wrong with them, adding that prayer should not substitute, but rather compliment medical attention.

Dr Francis Appai, Acting Medical Superintendent of the Asesewa Government Hospital, who was the resource person, took the participants through some causes, symptoms, signs and management and the treatment of breast cancer.

Mr Joseph Tetteh Angmor, the District Chief Executive for Upper Manya Krobo District, said Government had always considered the promotion of health as one of the areas critical to improving the human resource of the country and had accordingly done a lot to give credence to that commitment.

Source: GNA