Hundreds of women from the Builsa North Municipality of the Upper East Region of Ghana have benefited from a massive cancer screening campaign in the capital, Sandema.

The screening exercise, a collaborative effort between the Sandema Hospital and the United States-based 501(c) non-profit organization, Unlimited Cancer Care International, UCCI, marked programmes to commemorate this year’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month of October.

Led by midwives, nurses and medics from the Sandema Hospital, the three-day screening exercise which also included students from the Sandema Secondary School, saw over one hundred and fifty-eight women go through breast screening, with over one hundred and thirty-one others being screened for cervical cancers.

With ten women testing positive for cervical cancer, one with lumps and another with obscene breasts, the exercise, according to the organizers was hugely successful.

Upon receipt of the reports, the President and Founder of Unlimited Cancer Care International, Agivert Jackson, commended the hospital for what she called “one more bold step towards the collective fight against cancers”.

“I want to point out that, the fight against cancers, is a collective responsibility, and you have once again heeded the call, even now when it matters most” “she said.

Ms Jackson stated that “when it comes to dealing with the scare of cancers that confront the world, we are ready to pull the strings, flip chapters, and go the extra expensive mile to make a mark, and here today, we showed that we are not giving up the fight”.

“Day in, day out, women are diagnosed with breast cancer. Men are no exception since they are also diagnosed with all forms of male-related cancers including prostate cancers. But with early detection, coupled with the required support, survival rates would continue to increase” she said.

She therefore called for regular self-checks, at the least.

“It is important to self-check and follow that up with seeing a doctor at the appropriate medical facilities for checks for the slightest symptoms of any forms of cancers” Ms Jackson added.

She commended the Sandema Hospital for its consistency in the annual breast screening exercise and the Headmaster and the Sandema Secondary School for allowing the school to participate.

In August this year, UCCI embarked on a Ghana Cancer Awareness project where it undertook a series of activities geared at creating the requisite awareness in the fight against cancers.

The one-month-long “Ghana Cancer Awareness Project” saw the team, including partners from M&B Foundation take the team to Ada in the Greater Accra Region, the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital in the Central Region, the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in Kumasi, Sandema among others.

The team, under the “Condi Projects” also donated cancer-awareness creations branded educational materials such as mathematical sets, exercise books, backpacks and many more items to selected schools in Ghana to enhance the drive.

Female inmates at the Kumasi Central Prisons were presented with cash donations by the team.