Breast Cancer Treatment

Breast Cancer Treatment, UT Bank has held its annual Pink Ball to round off its funds raising and breast cancer campaign for 2011 aimed to create awareness about the diseases among men and women at the weekend.

This year’s Breast Cancer Awareness observed in October was on the theme: “Connect, Communicate, Conquer and Prevent Breast Cancer, One Woman at a Time. The Pink Ribbon Wear it. Share it.”

The Bank, in partnership with Citi FM, launched the awareness to raise GH¢ 100,000 to help provide cure at an early stage of the disease and to buy Mobile Pre-Screening Unit facilities for early detection and the treatment of the disease.

Statistics worldwide indicate that nearly one in eight women are diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime — a total of one woman every three minutes — and nearly 2,000 men are diagnosed each year as well.

Studies show that fifty percent or more of Ghanaians with breast cancer report to hospitals at an advanced stages of the disease. On average they report 8 months or more after first noticing a change in their breasts.

Mrs. Zara Neequaye, Co-ordinator of the programme at UT Bank, said the company hoped “to raise GHc100,000 to provide cure for early stage of cancer for at least 200 persons in the year 2011. It is anticipated that early stages of diagnosis can be cured with as little as GHc500.”

Pearl Esua-Mensah, Executive Director Finance, UT Bank, said the aim was to reduce the spread of breast cancer to an appreciable level, adding that UT Bank’s motivation was to help save lives.

The mobile unit, she noted, would provide easy access to disadvantaged women and men nationwide, to increase the chance of detecting the disease at the early stages and its successful treatment.

The campaign for the month saw the bank’s staff organized a health walk through some principal streets of Accra to distribute information leaflets on breast cancer to raise awareness.

Aside the health walk, the bank also held screening exercises at various market centres including Makola, Kaneshie, Madina, Agbogbloshie, Mallam, Koforidua, Takoradi, Tarkwa, Kumasi and Tamale, where stands were mounted to enable market women and men to examine their breasts.

Last year, UT Bank, in collaboration with the Cancer Society of Ghana, raised over GH¢ 30,000.00 through a series of events, including the ‘Pink Ball’ event to champion its cause in the fight against breast cancer in the country. Eighteen people, according to company officials, have so far received assistance for various levels of cancer treatment.