Mr Edmund Oduro-Agyei, the Superintendent of Stakeholder Engagement at the AngloGold Ashanti has said that there is the need for a collaborative effort to fight breasts and prostate cancers since they are the most recorded cancers among black people. He said this during the Breast and Prostate Cancer Grand Durbar at Edubiase. The durbar was organised by AngloGold Ashanti, the AGA Health Foundation, Adansi South District Assembly, Adansi South Health Directorate, and the Edubiase Divisional Council.
According to Mr. Oduro Agyei, nearly 70% of women diagnosed with breast cancer are in advanced stages of the disease due to low awareness, resulting in limited treatment success and high death rate.
“One out of eight females have breast cancer, and one out of three males has prostate cancer” he said.
He added that research has shown that about 30% of breast cancer patients are below 35 years. This shows that there is a relatively possible shift of cancer burden to women in their early ages and the need for a nationwide breast cancer screening for all women of all caliber and age to understand completely the pattern of breast cancer distribution in Ghana to enhance early detection, diagnoses, and treatment.
An amount of money which came from AngloGold Ashanti’s employees’ voluntary donations was presented to the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR) and Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research (KCCR) in Tropical Diseases to support breast and prostate research.
The Executive Director of AGA Health Foundation, Dr Kwadwo Anim encouraged everyone to reach out to their loved ones and advise them on self-breast examination and screening for early detection and treatment.
The District health Director at Adansi South, Mr. Daniel Yeboah also cautioned the public that breast cancer isn’t a female disease; rather men can also develop the disease. He revealed that one out of every 100 Breast Cancers diagnosed is found in Men and therefore men must also be cautious of breast cancer.
AngloGold Ashanti Ghana Obuasi Mine dedicated the month of October to create awareness for breast and prostate cancer as their contribution to awareness creation.
During the period, AngloGold Ashanti Ghana, in collaboration with AngloGold Ashanti Health Foundation ran series of breast cancer screening for its workers, their dependents, contractors and community members, as well as fundraising campaigns.