By
Edmund Quaynor, GNA
Koforidua, Oct. 21,
GNA – The Eastern Regional Minister, Mr Eric Kwakye Darfour has observed that
breast cancer can affect both males and female and not women alone as most
people believe.
He has therefore
called on all to join the breast cancer awareness campaign in the country.
Mr Darfour was
speaking at this year annual durbar of breast cancer survivors at Koforidua which
was organised to mark the breast cancer awareness month this October.
Earlier, hundreds of
breast cancer survivors, staff of medical institutions in Koforidua and some
civil society organizations organised a float and marched through the principal
streets of New Juaben South Municipality to raise public awareness on breast
cancer.
Mr Darfour commended
the management of the Koforidua Regional Hospital and the Judith Ellen Awuah
Darko (JEAD) Foundation for Breast Cancer for creating breast cancer awareness
in the hard to reach areas to help early detection and treatment of breast
cancer patients.
Mrs Judith Ellen
Awuah Darko, Executive Director of JEAD Breast Cancer Foundation, said the
presence of many breast cancer survivors was an indication that breast cancer
could be treated and managed.
She said the
challenge was how to detect the disease early for early treatment.
Mrs Awuah-Darko
therefore called on families to support their relations suffering from breast
cancer to seek early treatment.
Dr Kwame Anim
Boamah, Medical Director of the Koforidua Regional Hospital, expressed
appreciation to the JEAD Foundation for Breast Cancer and the Surgical
Department of the Hospital for creating awareness and helping for early
detection and treatment of breast cancer patients.
Dr Foster
Amponsah-Manu, Head of the Surgical Department of the Hospital, advised breast
cancer patients not to allow lack of money to delay them in seeking early
treatment for breast cancer cases.
He said from January
to September this year, the Koforidua Regional Hospital recorded 462 breast
cancer cases, surgically operated 44 persons and 16 people died from the
desease within the period under review.
Dr Sampson Ofori,
the Chairman, advised that when talking about breast cancer, the focus should
not be on women alone because men also suffered from the disease.
GNA
