Minister calls on all to join the breast cancer awareness campaign 30 October 2019

The Eastern Regional Minister, Mr Eric Kwakye Darfour has observed that breast cancer can affect both males and female and not women alone as most people believe. He has therefore called on all to join the breast cancer awareness campaign in the country.

Mr Darfour was speaking at this year annual durbar of breast cancer survivors at Koforidua which was organised to mark the breast cancer awareness month this October.

Earlier, hundreds of breast cancer survivors, staff of medical institutions in Koforidua and some civil society organizations organised a float and marched through the principal streets of New Juaben South Municipality to raise public awareness on breast cancer.

Mr. Darfour commended the management of the Koforidua Regional Hospital and the Judith Ellen Awuah Darko (JEAD) Foundation for Breast Cancer for creating breast cancer awareness in the hard to reach areas to help early detection and treatment of breast cancer patients.

Mrs Judith Ellen Awuah Darko, Executive Director of JEAD Breast Cancer Foundation, said the presence of many breast cancer survivors was an indication that breast cancer could be treated and managed. She said the challenge was how to detect the disease early for early treatment.

Mrs Awuah-Darko therefore called on families to support their relations suffering from breast cancer to seek early treatment.

Dr Kwame Anim Boamah, Medical Director of the Koforidua Regional Hospital, expressed appreciation to the JEAD Foundation for Breast Cancer and the Surgical Department of the Hospital for creating awareness and helping for early detection and treatment of breast cancer patients.

Dr Foster Amponsah-Manu, Head of the Surgical Department of the Hospital, advised breast cancer patients not to allow lack of money to delay them in seeking early treatment for breast cancer cases.

He said from January to September this year, the Koforidua Regional Hospital recorded 462 breast cancer cases, surgically operated 44 persons and 16 people died from the desease within the period under review.

Dr Sampson Ofori, the Chairman, advised that when talking about breast cancer, the focus should not be on women alone because men also suffered from the disease.

By Edmund Quaynor, GNA