Some market women in the Bolgatanga Municipality are calling for intensive education on breast cancer to enlighten them on the disease.

In an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Bolgatanga, many of the women said they did not know much about the disease and could not detect it if they or their daughters got it.

Madam Gifty Anafu, a tomato seller, said she only heard it was a form of disease that affected the breast and could make one lose one or both breasts.

She said she was not sure of the causes and never heard any details about it and also not been to any health facility to have her breast screened.
Ms Regina Abolga, who runs a grocery store, said she watched television presenters on several occasions talking about breast cancer, but did not have much knowledge about it.

Madam Rebecca Anarime, a cosmetics dealer in the Bolgatanga market, said she had no knowledge about breast cancer and asked whether it had the potential to kill just like Coronavirus.

Madam Anarime appealed to stakeholders in healthcare education and promotion, to intensify public education on breast cancer in rural communities.

The month of October had been set aside as breast cancer awareness month, and marked annually in several countries across the globe to increase awareness for early detection, treatment and palliative care of the disease

The World Health Organization (WHO) asserts that breast cancer was by far the most common cancer in women worldwide, both in developed and developing countries.

Currently there is not sufficient knowledge on the causes of breast cancer, therefore, early detection of the disease remains the cornerstone to breast cancer control.