More than 150 residents of Brafoyaw, a suburb of Cape Coast, have benefited from a free health screening exercise organised by the Female Journalists For Women and Rural Development in Africa (FJWoRDA) on Wednesday.
The exercise, in collaboration with B4 Foundation, a charity organisation, saw residents having their blood pressure, Sugar level, breasts and other health conditions examined by health personnel from the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital (CCTH).
Of the 44 women screened for breast lumps as part of the breast cancer awareness month, 19 had to undergo Mammogram examination and were referred to the CCTH for further examination.
Eleven of them, who had some abnormalities in their breasts, were also referred to the Hospital for free scan.
Only 14 of the figure had normal breasts.
The health exercise was to create awareness on breast cancer and other non communicable diseases to get women to seek early treatment if any defect was found.
Mrs Shirley Asiedu-Addo, the Executive Director of FJWoRDA, said across the world, breast cancer continued to wreck havoc on families, hence the need for the Foundation to contribute its quota towards the wellbeing of women, particularly those in rural communities.
Many families faced great distress because mothers, aunts, sisters and children and even some men were affected by breast cancer with its associated burden on the society , she said.
“We are journalists, but we are not just writers and broadcasters, we are humans, mothers, sisters wives, children, neighbours and the problems of society affect us too”.
“Making communities better places is our priority and this will be continually executed through the mass media, which disseminate and create awareness on pertinent issues affecting the public.”
Mrs Asiedu-Addo noted that breast cancer could be prevented and cured when detected early and urged women to commit to taking care of themselves first to enable them to take care of others in their families and contribute their quota to society.
She tasked women to go for regular check-ups and seek prompt health care to avert complications and undesirable consequences.
On Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV), she said women were great teachers and must help educate their peers, the youth and adolescents on SGBV and its effects and how to seek redress.
She called for the support of other organisations in efforts to reach out to communities with education to improve the lives of women and children.
