PINKTOBER: A healthy breast contributes to national development

One often underestimated factor in the national development equation is the health of a nation’s women, particularly when it comes to breast health. 

Life graces our time on Earth with amazing people, and women are undeniably no exception. It is, therefore, true that “women are the real architects of society.” Women collaborate with men in efforts to nurture and raise children.

A woman, after going through the average period of nine months, and in some cases even more, produces offspring, becomes a mother, and plays the roles of friend and wife. The complications that arise are better experienced than imagined.

Call it womanhood and reproduction, but place a premium on the value that women, especially mothers, have toward their children. For a baby, a mother is like a rare breed of sweet wine whose taste lingers in the mouth and leaves the taste buds wanting more. Women are major stakeholders in the growth and development of a child, making them indispensable.

Experience

I can wholeheartedly confess that the breast was instrumental in my upbringing. Its absence could be likened to depriving me of the oxygen I needed to exist; uncontrollable cries ensued until I was given those breasts. Growing up, my mum told me that in some cases, I had to chase her in the pursuit of breast milk. Indeed, it was my source of nourishment, drink, and life until I was weaned.

The breast forms an essential component of a woman’s body. Its use and importance are not limited solely to the bearer, the woman, but extend to society as a whole. Breasts serve as symbols of life, beauty, identity, and health. The multifaceted significance of breasts should remind us of the need to appreciate and respect the diversity of human bodies while prioritizing breast health.

A publication by the National Center for Biotechnological Information (NCBI) emphasized breasts as “the most important external identification of femininity.” This, to a large extent, sheds more light on the relevance women attach to a part of their body that holds such great importance for them.

Once again, the month of October is here, and globally it has been declared Breast Cancer Awareness Month (BCAM). Often referred to as ‘PINKTOBER,’ women all over the world are encouraged to listen to their bodies, perform self-examinations, and undergo screenings to minimize the unnecessary loss of lives to breast cancer.

While breast cancer deaths continue to decline in many countries worldwide, the situation differs in others. We meet some of the inspiring individuals who are working to change this situation.

Statistics

According to statistics from the American Cancer Society, breast cancer remains the world’s most prevalent cancer, but survival rates have significantly improved since the 1980s in countries with early detection programs and diverse treatment options.

In the United States, for example, breast cancer deaths have decreased by 43% from 1989 to 2020. Current figures in 2023 show that 15% of women diagnosed with breast cancer in the US die every year.

However, in other countries, the picture is vastly different. In Ghana, for instance, where over 4,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer annually, almost half of them will succumb to the disease.

Studies reveal that women in Ghana are often diagnosed at more advanced stages of the disease, with up to 70% of women having advanced-stage cancer by the time it is identified. This frequently results from a lack of awareness and education, coupled with common myths and misconceptions.

It is disheartening to learn that despite extensive awareness campaigns on breast cancer, the disease is on the rise. Older women are not the only susceptible ones; young women and, in some cases, men are also affected. Many diseases can affect the breast, and the most perilous of these is breast cancer.

Alarming

It still remains a headache that a deadly disease which experts have drawn and continue to draw attention to is being ignored. In recent developments, an estimation of nearly 1.7 million new cases of breast cancer are diagnosed with a further estimated 530,000 deaths occurring around the world.

According to Breast Care International (BCI), about 60% of Ghanaian women who are diagnosed with breast cancer are usually found in the stages of the disease due especially to low awareness, resulting in limited treatment success and a high death rate.

The impact of breast cancer extends far beyond the individual diagnosed. It affects families, children, husbands, and households as a whole. As a result, we must all become ambassadors for change by actively spreading awareness about the reality of breast cancer.

Nourishment

Apart from the breast's physical function and usage to humanity, it also signifies completeness and patience. Completeness in the sense that, it provides nutritious food to its young ones.

There’s no denying the fact that no food is as nutritious and hygienic as the milk produced by the breast; its uniqueness and fortification cannot be replicated in any form. Thus, the entire world is built on a foundation of total nutrition, courtesy of the breast.

Having said that, during the development stages of the breast, premium and teaching are given to patience and orderliness. It takes time to develop in size and shape and has a specific time to produce milk. I believe that these two important values cannot be underestimated. Complete health for the world and patience in realising its cherished growth needs. 

It is, therefore, necessary to incessantly blow the horn on the need to protect and save the lives of women because of the staggering statistics regarding the rate at which the menace of breast cancer is threatening the lives of women and some men alike.

The loss of a breast can have devastating psychological consequences on a woman. A woman who has lost a breast through cancer may feel self-conscious, insecure, inferior to other women, or undesirable to men. The depth of psychological trauma that women experience when they suffer breast cancer is worrying.

Attention

In a situation where the human sex ratio is seen to be par, it is only fair and important that the entire world pays keen attention to the menace of breast cancer in the lives of women. We cannot live in a world where almost half of the population feels psychologically defeated, and yet the whole population is unaffected. Can we?

Women are paramount. The roles of women have undergone massive evolution as far as working to contribute to the finances of the home is concerned. Women have escaped the dominating and domineering clutches of men. Some women double as breadwinners and play the traditional role of a woman.

For these reasons, every society needs women who are physically and psychologically healthy to contribute significantly to socio-economic growth and development. Thus, we need a society that's emancipated and disentangled from the shackles of breast cancer to experience and witness accelerated improvement and development.

The health of the woman hinges on every aspect of the growth of the nation. The economy will be found struggling if you take away the massive strides of women working class to the economy. Take away the motherly role of the woman in the home, and men and fathers have no peace of mind to do anything.

Role

The motherly role of women and their responsibility to their children produces a nation of healthy people. The reason is that society will produce a generation of unhealthy people if future leaders do not get the right balanced diet at the time they need most. Since the productivity of a nation is dependent on the health of the workforce, it's just reasonable that sound bodies are taken care of.

Every nation thrives when it's built on a solid foundation; one made of women in good health and untroubled by the fright of breast cancer disease. Let's strengthen the foundation and the structure will surmount all hurdles.

When we save a woman today, we save a whole generation tomorrow. In the midst of such plentiful awareness, no woman should die of breast cancer. Screening is more necessary now than later, for procrastination is always a thief of time and a stitch in time saves nine.

The writer, Bright Philip Donkor is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Briphildon Foundation, a registered non-governmental and humanitarian-based organisation. He’s also a youth activist. Writer’s email: bpdonkor@gmail.com or briphildonfoundation@gmail.com.