Accra, Oct. 29, GNA – The Police Ladies Association (POLAS) in collaboration with the Police Wives Association (POLWA) has launched a breast cancer awareness and screening exercise with a call on personnel to be ambassadors against the disease.
The breast screening exercise forms part of the awareness creation month, which seeks to increase attention, support, early detection and treatment of breast cancer, as well as palliative care of the disease.
Mrs Maame Yaa Tiwaa Addo-Danquah, Commissioner of Police, the Director-General, in Charge of Welfare of the Ghana Police Service, and President of POLAS, said breast screening had become necessary because there was no proven cause of the disease.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has estimated that 2.1 per cent of deaths among women were cancer-related.
The Organization said in 2018, it was estimated that 627,000 women died from breast cancer, approximately 1.5 percent of all cancer-related deaths among women.
Mrs Addo-Danquah stated that the International Agency for Research on Cancer of the WHO, indicated that out of a total number of 13,807 cancer cases recorded in the year 2018, in Ghana, 4,645 cases were breast cancer, representing 33 per cent.
Mrs Addo-Danquah said to ensure the safety of police women as far as breast cancer was concerned, POLAS had set up the “Well Woman Clinic” at the Police Hospital to give the needed education on the disease.
She said the screening would be done at the Police Training School, the Odorkor Barracks and across the regions.
Mrs Addo-Danquah said available records indicated that one per cent of men worldwide suffered from breast cancer and urged male personnel to also take advantage of the exercise.
Mrs Regina Oppong-Boanuh, the Assistant Superintendent of Police and President of the Police Wives Association (POLWA), encouraged the personnel to take advantage of the exercise to show solidarity to the numerous people living with breast cancer.
GNA