The second in the series of the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure has successfully been held in Kumasi, in the Ashanti Region of Ghana.
It was on the theme : �Africa, Get Involved, Together we race for the cure".
Held annually, the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure� Series raises significant funds and awareness of the fight against breast cancer, celebrates breast cancer survivorship and honours those who have lost the battle with the disease.
There were survivors of the disease from Ghana, the United States of America, Zambia, South Africa, France, and Ivory Coast among others.
Vice President of Ghana, John Dramani Mahama, led the over 17,000 participants that converged at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium for the pioneering walk/race through some principal streets of Kumasi as they raised awareness by providing information on Breast Cancer.
The walk/race which attracted some Ministers of State, Chiefs and Opinion leaders, women groups and some schools finally ended at the same venue.
Speaking at the function, the Vice President observed most women who die from breast cancer often report their condition to the hospital when the situation has become very acute.
He blamed this on the tendency of such victims to resort to herbal and spiritual treatment instead of seeking orthodox care and also blaming incidence of breast cancer and other diseases on the activities of witches and wizards.
�The time has come for us to stop attributing the outbreak of diseases to witches and wizards and rather work hard to change our lifestyles that were creating so many health challenges for us on daily basis,� he said.
Whiles assuring of government�s support for any initiative that aims at finding a cure for breast cancer, the Vice President warned that Ghana risks more death from breast cancer if such attitude to the disease persists.
Mr John Mahama however expressed satisfaction at the initiatives of Breast Care International in the fight against the disease and added that since the health of the people was crucial in building a sound nation, issues bordering on fighting breast cancer must be taken seriously by all.
The Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure� Series is the world�s largest and most successful education and fundraising event for breast cancer ever created. Started in 1983, the Komen Race for the Cure Series has grown from one Race with 800 people in Dallas, to a global series of more than 140 Races with 1.6 million people participating on four continents.
The Ghana Race, presented by leading Breast Cancer Awareness Creation and Research Organization in Ghana, Breast Care International (BCI), which is headed by Dr. (Mrs.) Beatrice Wiafe-Addae, is aimed at educating women on the dangers of the disease which is said to kill one woman in every 69 seconds the world over.
On her part, the President of BCI, local organizers of the event, Dr. Beatrice Wiafe Addae, appealed for the inclusion of breast cancer screening to the list of diseases under the health insurance scheme.
According to her, deaths resulting from breast cancer disease was decreasing in the developed countries than in developing nations because of the high level of awareness, and called on government and other corporate bodies to support them to reach out to more people across the country.
The Omanhene of Goaso Traditional Council, Nana Kwesi Bosomprah I, who addressed the gathering on behalf of the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, urged married women to share their health challenges with their husbands.
Available statistics indicate that more than 1,300,000 women died from breast cancer globally in 2010, and 2062 women were diagnosed with the disease in Ghana, a country which ranks 10th in the burden of the disease in Africa (Globacan sources).
Source: Sampson Nyamekye (HelloFM-Kumasi)/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana
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