Gender and Youth Coordinator Of TEWU Appeals For Cancer Fund

The Gender and Youth Coordinator of Teachers and Educational Workers Union (TEWU), Madam Theodora Dede Amanor, has urged the leadership of the union to set up a fund to give financial support to members who may be diagnosed with cancer.

She was addressing participants at a workshop organized by TEWU at the Sunyani Senior High School in Sunyani Municipality.

The workshop was aimed at educating members on breast cancer as October has been declared breast cancer awareness month.

The program was attended by about 100 members of the Union drawn from Bono, Bono East, Ahafo, Ashanti, and Greater Accra regions, who also went through breast cancer screening.

Madam Amanor indicated that the primary objective of the workshop was to educate the women on breast cancer and to conduct free screening for the participants.

She noted that for lack of education on breast cancer, many women reported late cancer symptoms, hence the education would help them to report early enough for treatment.

The coordinator advised women to promptly report to a health facility when they notice a change in their breasts.

She added the exercise would be extended to the communities to ensure no woman died of breast cancer.

The General Secretary of TEWU, Mark Dankyira Korankye, called on men to support their wives diagnosed with breast cancer and to help them conduct regular breast examinations for the early detection of the disease.

A team of nurses from the Sunyani Municipal Health Directorate who conducted the screening, educated participants on how to examine themselves and to check for lumps in their breasts.

They also advised the participants to self-examine their breasts regularly and report to the hospital for medical attention if they notice anything strange.

The leader of the team, Mrs. Monica Danso,  a midwife, sensitized the participants on signs and symptoms of breast cancer, explaining that some of the symptoms include a painless lump, change in the size of the breast, nipple discharge, and rashes on the breast amongst others.

She disclosed that the treatment is based on the stage of the disease, adding, “early detection is curable” and urged women to report early to the hospitals when they detect anything unusual about their breasts.

A breast cancer survivor, Lady Deacon Ophelia Boafo Cudjoe, advised patients against resorting to prayer camps but to make the health facility their first point of call.

She added that if she was able to survive cancer, there was hope for anyone diagnosed with the disease, and was not a death sentence.

Nana Ama Asiedu, Bono Region