Don’t go after ‘booby stand’, examine your wives’ breasts — Dr Wiafe-Addai

Married men have been tasked to cultivate the habit of playing with their wives’ breasts to help detect early signs of breast cancer for early medical attention.

The founder and President of Breast Care International (BCI), Dr Mrs Beatrice Wiafe-Addai, said many married men hardly fondled their wives’ breasts but rather went after young ladies with “booby stand.”

According to her, it is important for husbands to help examine their wives’ breasts to avoid late detection of any abnormalities which often result in delayed medical attention.

Dr Wiafe Addai was speaking at the launch of the 2019 “Walk for Cure,” a breast cancer awareness campaign in Cape Coast last Thursday.

Cape Coast will for the first time host this year’s “Walk for Cure” on Saturday, October 12, 2019, on the theme: “Early Detection is the Best protection” to drum home awareness of the disease and the need for women to seek early medical attention.

About 50,000 people are expected to join the walk from across the country.

Dr Wiafe-Addai noted that some men also ended up divorcing their wives when they contracted the disease, adding that “women with the disease needed a lot of support and love.”

Pay attention

She said while some men were not interested in the breasts, many of the women themselves hardly paid attention to their own breasts.

She expressed worry that the late detection of the disease often resulted in casualties. Because even though breast cancer can be cured, the consequences of late detection are disastrous.

She said currently about 58 per cent of breast cancer cases were under the age of 50, with one of the patients being as young as 13.

She said about 4,645 cases of breast cancer were recorded in Ghana in 2018 while the nation ranked 10th in a prevalence survey across Africa.

Diagnostic facilities

She appealed for diagnostic facilities for all major health centres across the country to help early detection as most of the women were losing their lives due to late detection of the disease.

Dr Wiafe-Addai, therefore, called for a credible database on the disease to help provide relevant information on cases for further studies and treatment so that the cost of screening could be added to the National Health Insurance Scheme to enable vulnerable persons to access such services.

 The Central Regional Minister, Mr Kwamina Duncan, commended BCI for the commitment to the fight against breast cancer.

He also urged husbands to support the women to seek medical care early.