An Oncology nurse at the Tamale Teaching Hospital Evelyn Osei-Amoah has advised women in the northern region to go for regular screening to prevent breast cancer. She said frequent screening is the only way the disease can be detected and treated on time without complications.
She said most women report to the hospital at a complicated stage that nothing can be done to safe them. She attributed the recent upsurge in the disease to lack of knowledge among rural folks and called for more sensitization and awareness creation. ‘’ some women especially in the rural communities will wait until their condition is terrible before they rush to the hospital all because they don’t have any idea about the disease, and they end up dyeing because at that point there is nothing the nurse can do to help’’, she noted.
Ms Evelyn in an interview with Zaa news mentioned that women can visit TTH’s cancer unit every Thursday morning to have their breasts screened. Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer in women worldwide. Approximately 1.4 million new cases of breast cancer are diagnosed yearly. The month of October is a breast cancer awareness month which seeks to create relevant awareness, attention and education about the disease.
She urged that breast examination should not only be done in the breast cancer month but should be a regular exercise. Ms Evelyn revealed most common symptom of breast cancer is a new lump or mass. A painless, hard mass that has irregular edges is more likely to be cancer, but breast cancers can be tender, soft, or round. They can even be painful. For this reason, she indicates it is important to have any new breast mass, lump, or breast change checked by an experienced health care professional.
By: Lilian D. Walter/zaanews/Ghanaweb
