Reporting late-stage breast cancer cases is recipe for disaster - Dr. Wiafe Addai warns

Breast cancer Surgeon and Philanthropist, Dr. Beatrice Wiafe Addai, has cautioned women against reporting late-stage breast cancer cases to hospital, warning, the practice is a recipe for disaster.

According to her, the 2018 Globocan report has it that Ghana has an incidence rate of 4,645 breast cancer cases per annum with mortality of 1,800, a situation that calls on women to immediately pay attention to their health.

Dr. Beatrice Wiafe Addai, who is also the Chairperson of the Ghana NCD Alliance and the Ghana Cancer Board, was addressing the clergy and faithful of the Emmanuel Methodist Church at Atonsu, in the Asokwa Municipal of the Ashanti region.

Dr. Wiafe Addai and her Peace and Love Hospitals medical team educated, counselled and screened the women of the Church in a bid to fight against misconceptions and stigmatization that tend to discourage them from seeking early medical attention.

“Breast cancer is the number one cause of death among Ghanaian women as far as cancers are concerned. Finding breast cancer as early as possible gives one a better chance of successful treatment, President of Breast Care International (BCI), Dr. Beatrice Wiafe Addai stressed.

The congregation benefited from free education sections on Breast cancer, Prostate Cancer and Sexopathology as Dr. (Mrs.) Beatrice Wiafe Addai and Dr. Samuel Amanamah took turns in educating and answering questions that bothered them after which the women enjoyed free clinical breast screening

The Rt. Reverend Nicholas Afrifa, the Minister in charge of Emmanuel Methodist Church, Mr. Mensah Morrison (Steward), Janet Owusu Gyimah, Mr. George Kofi Agyei and Mrs. Bernice Opoku Mensah, President of the Women’s Fellowship, associated themselves with the call by Dr. Wiafe Addai on the women to carry out periodic breast self-examination in a bid to reverse the increasing mortality from breast cancer in the country.

Some BCI breast cancer survivors took turns to share their success story, spanning diagnosis, treatment and recovery, a practice direction adopted to boost the confidence of women in orthodox medicine as the most potent form of treatment against breast cancer.

COVID-19

Dr. Wiafe Addai admitted that covid-19 and its attendant socio-economic challenges has deprived many of income, but said this temporary burden should not preclude women with suspected cases from accessing health care, saying “our health, is our wealth”;

She also advised the congregation to adhere to the covid-19 protocols, washing of hands with soap under running water, the use of face masks, the use of alcohol-based hand sanitizers and if possible stay at home.

The faithful, apparently overjoyed by the benevolent act, promised to conduct their own breast self-examination periodically, as has been taught and promptly report any suspicious findings to hospital.