Panelists on GBC’s “Women’s Voice”, a talk show on GTV have appealed to government and the Ministry of Health to include screening and treatment of breast cancer onto the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).
According to the panelists who are in Ghana, for a project dubbed ‘July and Jane’, to give free mammograms to women who cannot afford to pay for the services of their treatment, women need to be aware of the disease, and be aware of knowing that screening should be a must if you are 40 years of age because early detection saves lives.
They believe that the disease should also be spoken about not only in the month of October but all months of the year.
A 10-year breast cancer survivor, Philanthropist/Prophetess, Audrey Maison said treatment is expensive, a situation which has become a headache for families.
She called for the inclusion of cancer treatment onto the National Health Insurance Scheme, to save women.
She observed that curing breast cancer yourself is expensive.
“In the U.S., it’s a lot of money. $25,000 to $50,000 depending on what they do and some can go up to a $100,000, depending on how the cancer is, how fast it’s spreading and what kind of intervention needs to be done.”
For her part, a breast cancer survivor, Health Advocate and Entrepreneur, Pastor Sophia Campbell-Smiley, said early detection of breast gives one the chance to get rid of it.
She said regular self-examination also plays a paramount role in early detection of the disease.
Story filled by Mario Rashid Kadiah.
