Over 140 women from Konongo and adjoining communities in the Asante Akyem Central District of the Ashanti Region have undergone breast cancer screening as part of activities marking Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October.
The gesture by ASA Savings and Loans Limited was part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to promote the well-being of women in the targeted communities and increase breast cancer awareness in the area. It was also meant to sensitize women in hard-to-reach communities on the dangers of breast cancer and how to prevent themselves from contracting it.
During the exercise, medical officers detected 18 abnormalities in the breasts of some of the women who were screened.
The medical officers who conducted the screening exercise emphasized the need for the populace, especially women, to seek more information on breast cancer. A doctor from the Konongo Government Hospital, Dr. Nana Kofi Asiedu, outlined the risk factors for breast cancer as smoking, excessive alcohol intake, late first birth, early and late menopause. He urged women to seek early treatment if they detected any symptoms of breast cancer.
Dr. Kofi Asiedu added that breast cancer remains a common cancer affecting women of reproductive age in Ghana, and that women should not take chances. He further said, “To mitigate the incidence of morbidity and mortality cases, it is imperative to harness advocacy of breast cancer screening to facilitate early presentation, detection, referral, and management.”
He also advised women to avoid resorting to prayer camps and spiritual camps when seeking treatment for breast cancer-related ailments.
The Konongo branch manager for ASA Savings and Loans, Mark Amegashie, said that more resources are being dedicated to supporting breast cancer awareness campaigns to save lives.
The Ejisu-Konongo area manager for ASA Savings and Loans, Alexander Opoku Ayitey, said that the increasing number of breast cancer cases among women in Ghana calls for strengthened efforts to reduce its prevalence. He indicated that the company’s aim was to ensure early detection, adequate diagnosis, and treatment of breast cancer-related ailments, especially among the vulnerable.
The Ashanti East Divisional Manager for the company, Madam Khalilur Rahman, urged the participants to adhere to medical advice when treating breast cancer-related ailments.
ASA Savings and Loans pledged its resolve to go beyond its financial inclusion drive to work at saving the lives of the citizenry.
