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A door-to-door campaign to raise awareness about breast cancer in rural communities of the country was on Monday launched in Accra.
It is aimed at helping to prevent late-stage diagnosis, which often result in more aggressive and costly treatments.
A breast cancer survivor and advocate, Miss Raissa Sambou who is spearheading the campaign said her focus was to educate people outside major cities who often lack access to healthcare information and cancer treatment centres.
She stressed the importance of reaching rural populations with life-saving information about breast cancer symptoms.
“Prevention is always better than cure, especially when it comes to breast cancer,” she noted, explaining that early detection significantly improves survival chances.
As a breast cancer survivor, she intimated that treatment, which sometimes includes chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and surgery, was expensive and physically draining, adding that by promoting awareness in rural areas, the campaign aimed to help prevent late-stage diagnosis, which often result in more aggressive and costly treatments.
According to her, the campaign also seeks to dispel misconceptions surrounding breast cancer, which persist in rural communities, adding that many people in these areas still viewed the disease with fear and misunderstanding, leading to stigmatisation of patients.
Miss Sambou called on Ghanaians to support patients battling breast cancer rather than isolate them.
She revealed that the campaign, which started in Tomefa, a fishing community in the Ga South Municipality of the Greater Accra Region was set to expand to parts of the Eastern and Central regions.
“I do not want anyone to go through what I went through. We can all work together to change the narrative,” she said.
Miss Sambou further expressed concern about the devastating toll breast cancer takes on families, noting that many children have been orphaned by the disease.
She mentioned that the emotional and financial strain often leaves families in difficult situations, with children losing their mothers to the disease.
She urged the public to adopt healthier lifestyles, stressing the importance of avoiding excessive alcohol consumption, quitting smoking, and engaging in regular physical activity as key steps in reducing the risk of breast cancer.
By focusing on education and prevention, the award winning journalist hopes her initiative will save lives and improve breast cancer outcomes, especially in underserved areas where access to healthcare is limited.
BY AGNES OPOKU SARPONG
