The President and Founder of Breast Care International, Dr. Beatrice Wiafe Addai, has cautioned against the current reticence of civil society and policymakers on the rampaging effects of breast cancer on the poor and vulnerable in society.
The leadership of the Continent’s foremost, not for profit, pro-poor health Charity, says the continued inaction and the communication gap are being exploited by quacks and other untrained hands, further compounding the already precarious situation.
“We are becoming numb to breast cancer mortality statistics as another new normal, a trend which must be resisted in protection of our women by highlighting the myriad of challenges associated with the disease and the need to fight it, head-on,” she stressed.
Dr. Wiafe cautioned against justifying the apparent neglect on economic hardships, saying there could be no better time to help the poor and needy than in hard times.
BCI however singled the media out for praise and commended survivors, who continue to endure the disease under the stress of covid-19, and its attendant drawbacks.
Speaking to the media in Accra, a visibly-worried Dr. Wiafe said sustained awareness creation remained the most potent tool against the disease which has “resisted scientific knowledge and research about its exact antecedents, except to say alcohol consumption, sedentary lifestyle, cigarette smoking and known family history, largely predispose women to the condition”.
Dr. Wiafe said ignorance is a huge impediment in the awareness creation chain, and wondered why so much continues to be invested on other conditions while innocent indigent breast cancer women die needlessly by the day, especially in rural Ghana.
“The charity is interested in maximizing opportunities for the collective good of cancer patients, particularly breast cancer survivors.”