The Radiological and Medical Sciences Research Institute (RAMSRI), in partnership with the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC) Hospital, has held a health walk as part of its breast cancer awareness campaign throughout the month of October. Dubbed ‘Healthy Breasts for Healthy Life,’ the health awareness walk attracted enthusiastic staff members from GAEC, Nuclear Regulatory Authority, GAEC Hospital and students at the School of Nuclear and Allied Sciences, University of Ghana, among others, who defied the early morning rain to join in the procession. Starting from the GAEC Hospital at Atomic with some brief aerobics, they marched through the principal streets of Haatso-Dome-Kwabenya accompanied by brass band music, sharing flyers containing vital educative information on breast cancer. They also carried along banners and placards with key information such as: ‘Screening and early detection are the better choices to save you from getting breast cancer’ and ‘Come and feel for Lumps that save your Bumps.’ Others read: ‘Obesity or too much weight gain is a risk factor for breast cancer,’ ‘Changes in the size, shape or appearance of your breast may be a symptom of breast cancer’ and ‘Excessive drinking of alcohol increases the risk of breast cancer.’ Running concurrently with the health walk was a free month-long breast cancer screening session provided by dedicated nurses at the GAEC hospital, for the public. Professor Dickson Adomako, the Deputy Director-General, Ghana Atomic Energy Commission, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA), said breast cancer was the most predominant, making up to 12 per cent of all cancers globally. He said although the disease could affect both sexes, the focus had been on women because they were the most diagnosed, with risk factors including age, gender, family history, genetics, obesity and excessive alcohol intake. Prof. Adomako said the high treatment cost for advanced breast cancer, often led to financial stress on families, impoverishment, prolong suffering of patients and a resultant fatality, hence the need for all to ensure its prevention through regular screening for early reporting. He stressed on early detection through education, awareness creation and effective screening as key life-saving interventions and encouraged the public, especially women, to ensure regular breast examinations for prevention and to immediately report any abnormal detections to any health facility, for prompt diagnosis and treatment. He expressed gratitude to all who participated in the programme, saying ‘Although we thought the early morning rains at the beginning was going to stop us, but looking at the enthusiasm of the staff and the way we organised ourselves despite the rains, I will say it has been a very successful event.’ ‘We were able to sell a very good message to the people in the catchment area,’ he said. Prof. Francis Hasford, the Director of RAMSRI, said the Institute under GAEC, had been leading in cancer research and initiated the health walk against breast cancer prevention about three years ago through its annual campaigns, supported by the GAEC Hospital, hoping to expand the outreach to other areas of the country. He said the campaign was to announce the dreadfulness of breast cancer as a killer, provide important information and encourage society to appreciate the call for early diagnoses. Global statistics showed a record of 2.3 million breast cancer cases annually, which was projected to double by 2035, and Ghana records 4,500 cases a year, with nearly 50 per cent of them dying due to late reporting to the hospital for proper health care. ‘It is the second leading cause of cancer death in Ghana only after liver cancer,’ but there is a 90 per cent chance of successful treatment when detected early,’ Prof. Hasford said. Nana Boateng, the Director for Commercialisation and Communication at GAEC, said the walk yielded fruitful engagements with people in their shops along the routes of the procession and within the Kwabenya and Dome markets, directing them to designated health facilities, including GAEC and University of Ghana Medical Centre for screening and care.

Source: Ghana News Agency