Doctors Who Recommend Removal Of Cancerous Breast Are Not Demons

Dr Foster Amponsah-Manu, Head of the Surgical Department of the Koforidua Regional Hospital, has observed that, medical officers who recommend the removal of cancerous breasts of women are not agents of the devil. He expressed regret that when some patients are diagnosed as having breast cancer and it is suggested to them to undergo surgical removal of the cancerous part of their breasts, they stop attending the hospital and rather go to prayer camps for spiritual healing. Dr Amponsah-Manu said , often when things get worse and the promised miracle could not be achieved, then the dying patients are referred back to the hospital when their conditions have deteriorated , the cancer had spread to other parts of the body and little could be done to save them. Dr Amponsah-Manu urged breast cancer patients to report early to the hospital and appreciate how God work miracles through the medical officers to save them. He was speaking at a breast cancer awareness campaign and screening at the Pentecost University College in Accra as part of activities being organised to mark the breast cancer awareness month, which falls in October of every year. The programme was sponsored by the JEAD Foundation for Breast Cancer, a non-governmental organisation in collaboration with the Koforidua Regional Hospital. He advised women to conduct self examination once every month. He said they should check their breasts and report to the nearest hospital if they found any changes in the colour of the skin, or when they notice that one of their breasts is getting bigger or longer than the other or found any lump or any nodule in them. He said however not all nodules found in the breast are cancerous and research had proven that, only one out of 10 nodules could be cancerous. Dr Amponsah-Manu said; though women often contract breast cancer men also get the disease. He said breast cancer kills men faster than women. He said current situation indicate that, breast cancer could affect any body at any age and it is no longer the disease for the elderly as is use to be assumed. Dr Amponsah-Manu said, last year, out of the 806 people screened, 18 people had confirmed breast cancer cases while 74 had suspected breast cancer cases. Mrs Judith Ellen Awuah-Darko, Executive Director of the JEAD Foundation for Breast Cancer explained that, the vision for the foundation is to create awareness and treatment of breast cancer among rural poor communities.