October is breast cancer awareness month (often known as “pink month”), and as such, there will be a number of events to educate the public, particularly women, on the risks of the disease and how to treat or prevent it.

Women typically dress in pink T-shirts with ribbon embellishments throughout this month to raise awareness of the illness.

This year’s breast cancer aware­ness month will be marked by a number of events, including walks, talks, and breast cancer screenings, among others.

The Spectator has fervent hope that the screening exercises will not be focused only in the urban centres but also in the rural areas as breast cancer is deadly and is no respecter of persons.

Additionally, October is a good time for breast cancer survivors to inspire people who are presently receiving treatment.

The Spectator encourages both men and women to take advantage of the testing programmes during this awareness creation month to be screened to know their statuses be­cause breast cancer is preventable and treatable when identi­fied early.

As early diagnosis can help to stop the disease from spreading to other parts of the body, it is preferable to be diag­nosed early for treatment as opposed to delaying screening in case the unex­pected occurs.

According to statistics, the dis­ease claimed the lives of 685, 000 people globally in 2020, and in Gha­na, over 4,000 women are diagnosed with the condition each year, making up 3.1 percent of all cancer cases.

Health professionals should arrange counselling sessions for all demographics to give hope to breast cancer patients who are already demoralised by their diagnosis.

Unfortunately, despite increased awareness, some people still hold superstitious views about the illness and believe witchcraft to be the root of breast cancer.

They are adamant that breast cancer is spiritual and can only be cured spiritually, thus they won’t go to hospitals for treatment.

While it is not wholly wrong to ask God for help during illness in the form of miracles, attributing the etiology of breast cancer to spiritual forces is inappropriate.

Unfortunately, people who delay only visit hospitals when there are complications and the sickness has spread to other organs, making it too late for treatment.

Others attempt to treat them­selves by ingesting various mixtures, but they only make matters worse.

Therefore, in order to prevent complications, we suggest those who have the disease to seek competent medical care.

Although the cause of breast can­cer is unknown health professionals have claimed that there are several risk factors that make people more likely to get the disease. These include, among others, bleaching, excessive alcohol consumption, and smoking.

Instead of partaking in these activities, which can have a variety of negative effects on one’s health, it is best to have a healthy lifestyle by monitoring your food, exercising frequently, consuming less alcohol, and avoiding bleaching in order to live longer.

Breast cancer has claimed the lives of many and we must all make a concerted effort to fight the disease through awareness creation seeking regular health check and doing self-breast examination.