News
Times Ladies raises awareness on breast cancer
The Ladies’ Association of New Times Corporation (NTC) has held a breast cancer awareness event as part of activities to create awareness on the disease among women in the corporation.
Clad in the corporation’s pink breast cancer t-shirts, the ladies were educated by Ms Raissa Sambou, a breast cancer survivor who is also a staff of the corporation.
Speaking at the brief event, Ms Sambou said her breast cancer journey started in November 2019 when she felt a lump in her left breast.
She said after seeing the doctor, she was given antibiotics with the hope that the lump would disappear on its own but it did not.
She said after two biopsy tests at the 37 Military Hospital and a private hospital, it was confirmed she had the disease.
According to Ms Sambou, her cancer was an invasive type grade three carcinoma. Carcinoma is cancer that forms in the epithelial tissue. Epithelial tissue lines are most of the organs, such as the internal passageways in your body (like your esophagus), and the skin.
“I went through eight cycles chemotherapy and 16 rounds of radiotherapy,” she said.
She explained that breast cancer was curable when detected early but could spread to the brain, lungs, spine and other vital organs of the body if not identified early.
Ms Sambou urged women in the corporation to pay much attention to the breasts, saying “you cannot afford to be careless with your breast health.”
She said self-examination was key to the prevention and cure of the disease, advising them to always do self-examination, starting from their armpits, neck then to the breasts.
“Take self-examination seriously because you know yourself better than the doctor,” she said, while urging them to support family members who had been diagnosed of the disease.
The Acting Editor of The Spectator, Mrs Georgina Naa- Maku Quaittoo in her remarks said the event was to join in the celebration of the breast cancer awareness month which is commemorated in October every year.
Mrs Quaittoo who is also the president of the Times Ladies Association (TLA) encouraged the women to regularly check their breast through self-examination and report any abnormally detected in the breast at the hospital.
By Jemima Esinam Kuatsinu
News
‘The Law of Karma’ premieres today at Foxy Event Centre
All roads lead to the Foxy Event Centre at Ablekuma NIC today when Ekab Movies Production premieres its maiden movie titled ‘The Law of Karma.’
The movie features upcoming characters like Pretty Annie (Annie), Mariama Tetteh (Nana Ama), Prophet Boanerge Mireku (Mr Osei), Alice Ghansah (Lucy), Rose Asiedua (Queenzy), Maxwell Buabeng (Skylord), Georgina Leobo (Reggie), John Mensah (John), Williams Appiah (Jerry), Nana Ama Yeblack (Lina) and Kofi Mensah (Mensah).
Directed by Mr Emmanuel Atuahene-Bempong (Osor), ‘The Law of Karma’, tells a true life story of how two friends – Annie and Nana Ama, grew together in the same neigbourhood.
Annie and her parents later travelled outside the country to seek greener pastures and relocated to Ghana after many years.
Annie, the only daughter of her parents convinced them to invite her childhood friend Nana Ama to stay with them.
It was for a good cause but Nana Ama had a totally different plan for the now fabulously rich family of Annie.
Mr Bempong, told The Spectator Agoro last Friday that “this movie will teach Ghanaians the lessons that one must not pay back good with evil.
In the company of some of the actresses, Mr Bempong said preparation for the premiere was far advance and was expecting to have a memorable evening with movie lovers.
He said there would be a 4pm red carpet event to precede the premiere which starts at exactly 6pm.
According to him, various strategies have been employed to sell tickets on different promotional packages.
Tickets for the VIPs are being sold at GHȻ100, a family of five can obtain tickets at a cost of GHȻ150, double for GHȻ80 and regular pegged at GHȻ50.
He urged movie lovers across the country to attend the premiere as a boost for the new faces to hit the screens.
By Andrew Nortey
News
‘No meat on Mondays,’ consume plant baised foods… Health expert advises
Replace meat with plant based foods to reduce diseases
“No meat on Mondays,” is the call on Ghanaians by health experts, following a renewed drive to practically reduce the high spate of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in the country.
The call is to encourage a gradual adoption of healthy eating habits among the populace to avert the increasing high blood pressure (hypertension) and type 2 diabetes cases among the populace.
These conditions usually build up fatty deposits in the body and decrease organ function.
It is in view of this that the ‘Meatless Monday’ project, a public health initiative to rally as many Ghanaians as possible to reduce meat consumption at least one day in a week for their health and that of the environment, has been rekindled.
Coinciding with World Heart Day and beyond on the theme; ‘Use Heart for Action,’ the campaign is urging Ghanaians to take out meats like beef, pork, mutton, goat as well as fish and poultry from their meals on Mondays and replace them with plant-based foods like vegetables, fruits, whole grains and plant-based proteins.
According to the Executive Director of the John Hopkins Centre for Communications, Mr Emmanuel Fiagbey, at the re-launch, stated that simply choosing not to eat meat one day in a week but plant-based food was a deliberate effort to begin making small changes in one’s dietary habits and reduce risks for illnesses like heart attacks, stroke, diabetes, among others.
Mondays, he explained, was strategic to enable people start off the week on a healthy note after possibly indulging in all sorts of unhealthy eating in previous days, particularly weekends where people often let down their guard.
The NCDs Programme Manager of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Dr Efua Commeh, advised Ghanaians to make it a habit to exercise regularly, screen and check their blood pressure often, eat healthy and continue with medication when diagnosed of any NCD in order to promote longevity.
“By virtue of lifestyle changes due to global dynamics, eating of products like meat which used to be part of the family only during festive seasons have now become a norm in households because people are earning more and now able to buy beef, mutton, chicken and fatty foods and drinks on more regular basis.
The consumption of these products, however, comes with increased risk and people should be aware and start eating better, exercise and be more responsible for their health.”
Studies have shown that there is a strong link between eating red meat and heart-related diseases and deaths.
Diets high in red and processed meat have been associated with increased risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, obesity, cancers particularly colorectal cancer, among other related ailments.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that a total of 41 million deaths occur annually due to NCDs.
In Ghana, about 95,000 deaths, almost 50 per cent of all mortalities each year results from NCDs such as heart diseases, stroke, diabetes, cancer and respiratory disease which are also common conditions reported in health facilities.
By Abigail Annoh
