A cancer specialist with the Pentecost Hospital in Tarkwa, Dr. Charles Kobina Yirrah, says women smokers are four times more prone to cancer infection than non-smokers.

Dr. Charles Kobina Yirrah, was speaking at this year’s Ladies in Mining and Allied Professionals event organised by UMaT.

Free breast, Cervical and Prostate Cancer screenings were also part of the event.

While taking participants through the signs, detection and management of breast cancer, Dr. Yirrah advised women against smoking and encouraged them to visit the hospital early or participate in cancer screening for early detection and management.

“The most important reason almost everyone has to embark on this screening exercise or be part of it is that cancers are deadly. Unfortunately, in most instances, people do come to the hospital at a very late stage and in that state. There is nothing that can be done to save you. That is why we always say that, early detection saves lives, so whether being breast cancer, cervical cancer or prostate cancer, if you don’t go to the hospital early, and you are not screened for it, we can’t even tell whether you have it or not. The detected signs do not necessarily say that or do not tell that you have breast cancer, cervical cancer, but when further investigations are done, and you have it, prompt treatment can be given to you, and you can also become one of our survivors”, he said

“With the issue of prostate cancer, every man who is above 40 years is likely to have prostate enlargement. We can’t tell whether it’s a cancer or not unless you come to the hospital. So if you realize that you are urinating too often than usual, you wake up at night to urinate more than three, four, five times, or you have to strain to urinate or if you feel some pain in your penis while urinating, then I think you also have to come to the hospital for screening. These signs we’ve mentioned, or any other sign may not go for cancer per se, but when you come, we will be able to tell which one is likely to be”, Dr. Yirrah noted.

A member of the Ladies in Mining and A Senior Lecturer at UMaT, Dr. Christiana Nyarko gave the expectations of the 2022 edition of the UMaT and the Ladies in Mining and Allied Professionals organised cancer screening and awareness and said it has target to reduce cancer spread.

“A lot of women are being affected with this cancer sickness, but how can we reduce it? so for us Women in Mining and UMaT, our theme on reducing breast cancer this year is to reduce and control the spread of breast cancer so that women who are being affected and dying from breast cancer and cervical cancer can be controlled… We have seen that one thing that makes this disease spread is early sex and sexual abuse of girls under five years. You can find a beautiful lady who was abused sexually by an old man when she was a kid, and she’s not aware that it has generated this cancer sickness. Another thing is that you won’t see the symptoms early and will only become an issue with pregnancy after marriage”, she said.

She also indicated how teenage pregnancy and deliveries as well as homosexuality can contribute to cancers.

“A lot of our Junior High School students were pregnant when they were writing their final exams (B.E.C.E), so this girl who has started giving birth at this age. How developed is her cervix that she has used to give birth? So by the time that she will get to forty years, there will be so many complications. We also are pleading with the parents to protect their children because nowadays, we are having old men who are sleeping with young boys and all these can lead to cancer infections”, she added.

Over 400 women and men had free Breast, Cervical and Prostate cancer screening.