Twelve cases of breast lumps with high suspicion of cancer have been detected at Agormanya in the Lower Krobo Municipality of the Eastern Region.
This was discovered during a free breast cancer screening exercise organised by Kloma Hengme Association last Saturday under their new pro-poor social intervention programme dubbed ‘The Kloma Hengme Breast Cancer Screening Initiative’.
A total of 580 women and young girls were screened for the breast cancer. All the 12 women who were diagnosed with the disease were further referred to the Atua Government Hospital for further assessment and management.
Jonathan Kelvin Semetey, a senior ultrasound specialist from the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH), made this known in an extensive report he submitted to the management of the Kloma Hengme Association on Monday, after he led a team of medical professionals and nurses to embark on the screening exercise.
Mr Semetey, a Kloma Hengme member, said all the 12 women who were referred to the Atua Government Hospital would surely get appropriate treatment for their ailment, but urged all of them to take their medications seriously.
On the statistics, the ultrasound specialist said one in eight women would develop breast cancer in their lifetime, and worldwide, one woman dies every 13 minutes from the disease.
He said in Ghana, “The figures are not different but the challenge is the delay in reporting which is often done late when the disease has reached an advanced stage.”
Mr Semetey said there is no specific known cause for breast cancer, but there are always predisposing factors which include sedentary lifestyle, obesity, constant wearing of brassieres and excessive intake of dairy products.
”Not all lumps in the breast are cancerous that is why the need to report any suspicion of lump to a qualified person for further assessment and action,” he indicated.
Hepatitis B and Syphilis
Results of other diseases such as syphilis and hepatitis B which were also screened by the medical team the same day also show that the infection rate of such diseases is quite high. Out of a total of 820 women and men who were screened, 147 recorded positive for syphilis, while 77 also recorded positive for hepatitis B.
Fidelis Tetteh Darnor, a laboratory scientist and also a Kloma Hengme member who was part of the medical team, stated that there was the need to adopt a healthy lifestyle such as abstinence from sex, protection during sexual intercourse and immunisation against hepatitis B to control the phenomenon in the Krobo area.
Meanwhile, the Women’s Organiser of the Kloma Hengme Association, Esther Maseyo Azu, has appealed to women not to run to prayer camps but seek prompt medical care when they realise a lump in their breast or suspect that something is wrong with their breast, adding, “Prayer should not substitute, but rather compliment medical attention.”
FROM Daniel Bampoe, Agormanya