An Oncology Nurse at the breast cancer unit of the Tamale Teaching Hospital (TTH) Evelyn Osei-Amoah has appealed to NGOS and benevolent individuals to support the unit with a mammography machine. She said there is an urgent need for the machine to be provided at least at the TTH, to serve the five regions of the north.
According to her the lack of mammography machine is not only affecting treatment for women above age 40 diagnosed with cancer, but also a challenge to health care workers as it puts them in a dilemma in terms of how to screen women above that age. In the circumstance, they may not know their status or undergo proper treatment, a situation, which poses grave danger to their well-being. Speaking to Zaa news in an interview, Madam Evelyn Osei-Amoah noted that patients are referred to as far as Kumasi or Accra to be able to perform an investigation.
‘’Unfortunately we don’t have a mammography machine within the region, so when it comes to that aspect we have to let our patients go as far as Kumasi or Accra to be able to take that investigation and bring the results back, so I can when it comes to using the ultra sound machine we have it, and other scans, but the only challenge is the mammography machine’’, she noted.
Mammography machine is used to screen women who are above the age 40 and it is the standard diagnostic test to confirm lumps in breasts. The month of October is observed as Breast Cancer Awareness month, which is an annual campaign to increase awareness on breast cancer to ensure, amongst others, that every woman has access to education, screening, treatment, and support of the disease.
The Tamale Teaching Hospital (TTH) as part of the month-long event has been screening women free of charge of breast cancer and counseling them on the disease. She also used the opportunity to educate the general public on the signs and symptoms of the disease. She advised the general public, especially women to avail themselves for their breast to be examined to save lives.
‘’I want to use this opportunity to tell my fellow women out there to avail themselves for the free screening, because early detection can save a life’’, Madam Evelyn emphasized.
By: Lilian D. Walter/zaanews.com/Ghana
