Breast Cancer awareness: 10th edition of “Ghana Walk for the Cure” held at Tepa
The 10th edition of “Ghana Walk for the Cure” was held at Tepa in the Ahafo Ano West district in the Ashanti region in a colourful display.
The event held annually by Breast Care International (BCI) to raise campaign awareness about breast cancer was the first to be organized in a district since its inception in 2011.
The international event, on the theme “BREAST CANCER WON’T REST, SO WHY SHOULD WE REST”, was held on Saturday, October 1, 2022.
The event was chaired by the Paramount Chief of Tepa Traditional Council, Nana Adusei Atwenewaa Ampem I, and supported by the Paramount Queenmother of Tepa Traditional Council, Nana Agyeiwaa Paamu II.
It was participated by foreign nationals, Diplomatic Corps, security agencies, traditional rulers, civil societies, government officials and school children.
The President of BCI, Dr Mrs Beatrice Wiafe Addai, addressing the crowd, “waged war” on the dreaded breast cancer disease.
Dr Mrs Beatrice Wiafe Addai, who is also the CEO of Peace and Love hospitals, stated that more than 2,000 women died out of 4,600 cases of breast cancer recorded annually in Ghana.
Declaring it as a national disaster, she posited that the disease should be given the much needed attention as given to COVID-19 that killed more than 1,400 persons in two years.
“If breast cancer is saying it won’t rest, why should we rest? Everyone must support BCI as we wage war against the disease to protect our women,” Ghana NCD Alliance chair urged.
She was quick to add that the war can be won if breast cancer education is intensified in the rural areas where the disease is rampant and if cases are reported early for treatment.
Dr Mrs Beatrice Wiafe Addai assured that “the disease is preventable, treatable curable and if reported to the hospital early, there is a high chance of survival”.
The Paramount Chief of Tepa Traditional Council, Nana Adusei Atwenewaa Ampem I, in his speech called for government’s support for BCI as it wages war against breast cancer.
As a national disaster, the paramount chief said “it needs collective conscious efforts to save and reduce breast cancer deaths among women in the Ghana”.
The Moroccan Ambassador to Ghana, H.E. Iamane Quaadil, expressed her happiness for being part of an international event that seeks the interests of women in Ghana and Africa.
She pledged the Moroccan Embassy support to Dr Mrs Wiafe Addai and her BCI team in the fight against breast cancer in Ghana.
Background
The maiden edition of the BCI Ghana race for the cure took place in Kumasi in 2011, repeating itself the following year in the Garden city before hitting the streets of Accra in 2013. In 2014, it was moved to Sunyani, bounced off to Takoradi in 2015, in 2016, it bounced back to Kumasi, 2017 in Koforidua, 2018 in Tamale and 2019 in Cape Coast.
Source; Ghana/otecfmghana.com/Francis Appiah
