Dr Vanessa Aseye Atikpui, a medical doctor, has urged women to be familiar with their body for early detection of breast cancer to increase the chance of survival.
She said, “We shouldn’t just sit around. We need to be able to understand our bodies, familiarize ourselves with our bodies, so that if there is anything abnormal, we’ll be able to identify it in time to visit the healthcare provider for proper examination.”
Dr Atikpui, in an interview as part of the Breast Cancer Awareness Month, told the Ghana News Agency that early detection of the disease was crucial as it helps to save lives.
She said early detection meant “survival is even higher. So high, that the chances of the cancer coming back after you have been treated is so low. When it is detected early, you don’t spend so much.”
“Most of the treatment that you will be given may even be covered by National Health Insurance. The journey to the hospital will not be that long and less stressful, less confusing and you don’t even have to lose your breast.
You don’t even have to do treatment like chemotherapy when you are detected early. So early detection is very, very important,” she added.
Breast cancer occurs when cancer cells in the breast begin to overgrow in uncontrollable ways. It is the most common cancer among women worldwide, accounting for about 25 per cent of all cancer cases and affecting over 2.3 million women globally each year.
Dr Atikpui cautioned the public against over-sexualizing the disease as it moved it away from the true meaning of what breast cancer and how men could support with early detection.
“Individuals who have been diagnosed with breast cancer go through quite a lot of challenges, and they need support from the community as a whole. And we do not need to sexualize it or minimize the disease,” she added.
She, however, encouraged those diagnosed with breast cancer to take their treatment seriously and not allow stigma from people to prevent them from living their lives.
Ms Miriam Abla Anani, Breast Cancer Survivor, said she sought treatment three years after diagnosis, leading to the lost of her womb, ovaries, and tubes.
She said breast cancer survivors were faced with a lot of financial challenges and called for assistance from individuals, churches, and NGOs to enable them to have effective treatment.
Breast Cancer Awareness Month, also known as Pink October, is observed annually to sensitise women and men on the need to screen their breasts routinely to detect the disease at a treatable stage before it becomes deadly.
According to GLOBOCAN, Ghana in 2022 recorded 5,026 cases of breast cancer with associated 2,369 deaths, representing an increase in the number of cases recorded in 2020 to 4,482.
In Ghana, it is estimated that one in 22 women will develop breast cancer in their lifetime.
