New Voices, a special initiative of the Lions Clubs International which seeks to promote gender parity and diversity, has educated women on breast cancer prevention and treatment.

The initiative aims to promote women's interests, make their voices heard and provide a platform to harness their leadership potential through mentorship and engagements in community service.

In line with their commitment to addressing crucial health issues affecting women, New Voices organised a talk on breast cancer, in observance of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

The event took place at the Christ the King Parish last Thursday, October 19.

Present at the event were the Senior Gender Officer of UN Women, Afua Ansre; the District Governor of District 418 in Ghana, Kate Baaba Hudson, the New Voices Chairperson, Dr Sandra Kesse-Amankwa as well as many female guests from some institutions.

In her welcome address, Dr Sandra Kesse-Amankwa said the programme sought to educate women on measures to adopt to prevent the occurrence of breast cancer.

She highlighted that they seek to help women make informed choices on treatment when they have to live with cancer, and also provide the needed support to people living with cancer when the need arises.

The climax of the programme was a talk by Susan Tsotsoo Malik of the Maud Lokko Breast Cancer Foundation, who is a stage 3 cancer survivor and has helped many women fight the disease.

Mrs Malik shared her experience of cancer with the audience and explained what cancer was to them as well as the risk factors associated with it.

She advised the participants to adopt healthy lifestyles which was paramount for the prevention of cancer.

Mrs Malik also mentioned that cancer has no cure, however, early detection can improve one's survival rate. The earlier it is detected, the better the chances of successful treatment.

The breast cancer survivor ended her presentation with an emphasis on the need to have a positive attitude towards life when one has to live with cancer.

She called for the need for a strong support system from healthcare providers, family and friends to fight cancer.