The National capital, Accra, for the second time in a decade, played host to the acclaimed, nationwide, “breast cancer walk for the cure” organised by leading anti-breast cancer campaigner, Breast care international.
The seven kilometre walk starting from the Obra spot at the Kwame Nkrumah in Accra witnessed thousands of anti-breast cancer participants, made up of students, policy makers, educationists and medical practitioners, members of the security services, and market women walking through some select principal streets of Accra amidst music and dancing.
There were international participants from the United States of America, India, the Netherlands, Morocco and India.
The enthusiastic crowd held aloft placards which bore anti-breast cancer messages, and walked briskly from the Obra spot at the Kwame Nkrumah circle through the Nkrumah avenue, Kinbu, the busy makola market before converging at the forecourt of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly for the highlight of the programme.
Organisers, highlighting reasons for the return to Accra, regretted the effects of pervasive local myths preventing many from seeking readily available medical treatment.
The President of Breast Care International, Dr. Beatrice Wiafe Addai said the organisation bears the cost of all the countrywide public awareness creation programs, and where the cost of treatment is prohibitive for a number of patients, corporate sponsorship had come handy on countless occasions to save lives, a good reason why BCI cannot decouple its’ success story from benefactors for their immeasurable support spanning over a decade.
She attributed the impressive gains, survivorship and immense public acceptance to the Charity’s unwavering loyalty to the cause of women.
Dr. Wiafe said at the centre of the campaign is early detection and survivorship, and cautioned families and women afflicted by the life-threatening disease not to rely on herbal concoctions and other unapproved methods, but rather report suspicious lumps promptly, to any health facilitate for immediate attention.
The return to Accra, organizers explained, is premised on the increasing wave of end stage cases attributed to myths and stigma recorded in the cosmopolitan area ironically rated as the literacy hub of the country.
This year’s walk was on the theme, “Breaking the Myth, Fighting for the Cure,” and is anchored on the firm resolve and determination to turn the corner in the campaign against this debilitating disease which continues to ravage mothers, wives, sisters, daughters, and families in general, though treatment and cure abound.
The Guest of honor, His majesty, King of the Igbo community in Ghana, identified himself with the theme.
He said if efforts by Dr Wiafe Addai is sustained across the country especially in rural areas, many people could become aware of the disease and seek early medical treatment to stay alive.
Dr. Ihenetu charged women to seek early medical attention when diagnosed with breast cancer and urged the public to spread the message of breast cancer awareness in their communities.
Organizers commended the complementary role of the media in carrying content which cautioned against practices predisposing women to the condition, and availability of cure.
Other speakers encouraged women to guard against weight gain, avoid alcohol intake and consistently carry out the monthly breast self- examination in a determined effort to reduce the breast cancer scourge in Ghana.
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