About 300 women of the Catholic and Pentecost churches in the Greater Accra region were screened for breast cancer in an exercise organised by Breast Care International (BCI).

The exercise is to educate, empower and encourage women to become proactive by engaging in preventive lifestyle, perform Breast Self-Examination and get appropriate screenings every year.

According to the International Agency for Research on Cancer, Ghana has an incidence rate of 2,260 per 100,000 women and 1% of cases of breast cancer is in men.

Breast cancer is the number two cause of death in Ghana and one of the leading causes of death globally. Breast cancer happens when cells grow and divide in an out of control and abnormal manner.

Finding breast cancer as early as possible gives you a better chance of successful treatment, President of Breast Care International, Dr. Beatrice Wiafe Addai stressed.

Addressing women at the St. Joseph Catholic Church and Pentecost Church respectively, she described breast cancer as a silent killer hence the sensitization of women on the disease to ensure regular examination of their breasts and seek early treatment where required.

The breast surgeon took the women through the process of how to self-examine the breast for early detection of breast cancer. He emphasized the importance of early detection.

“There is an increasing number of cases of breast cancer among women globally and in Ghana and we at Breast Care have increased awareness and education on preventive measures to reduce cancer deaths” she added.

Media Education

Highlighting the important role of media, Dr. Wiafe Addai said journalists in Ghana should increase reportage on the deadly disease.

She said the effective use of media alone will create awareness about the curable disease and remove the people’s apprehensions and misconceptions about it.

The breast cancer surgeon thanked the media for its continuous support to BCI’s campaign in the rural areas.

After the education, Dr. Wiafe Addai who is also the Chief Executive Officer of Peace and Love hospitals led her team to screen women of both churches.

Those found to have issues with their breasts were referred to hospitals for treatment.