A traditional leader is pressing families, churches and health workers to turn Breast Cancer Awareness Month into early screening and real support for patients.
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, widely known as Pink October. This year's campaign theme is "Every story is unique, every journey matters."
In a commentary published by Daily Guide Network, Obaapanin Akua Nyanta Oforiwaa, the Beposo Ankaasehemaa (queen mother of Beposo), argues that wearing pink ribbons is not enough. Her central point is that awareness must lead to action: self-examination, prompt medical checks, screening and support for people living with the disease.
The numbers behind the campaign
She cites figures from the World Health Organisation (WHO), the United Nations agency for global health. About 2.4 million women were diagnosed with breast cancer in 2024, and roughly 694,000 women died from it worldwide.
Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women and is found in every country.
Signs not to ignore
The piece lists changes that should prompt a visit to a qualified health worker:
- a new lump or thickening in the breast or armpit
- a change in the size or shape of a breast
- dimpling or other unusual changes in the skin
- changes to the nipple or the area around it
- unusual nipple discharge, including bloody discharge
She stresses that men can also be affected, and that not every lump is cancer. The warning is against two extremes: panicking, and self-diagnosing or ignoring a change that persists.
When breast cancer is found before it spreads, treatment generally works better and outcomes improve. But fear, stigma, misinformation, money problems and simple delay keep many people from care at the point where it matters most.
Risk reduction
Not all breast cancers can be prevented. Still, the commentary points to keeping a healthy body weight, regular physical activity, limiting alcohol, avoiding tobacco and eating well as steps that support overall health and can lower some risk. People with a strong family history or known high-risk genetic mutations are advised to seek individual medical assessment.
Faith, herbs and delay
One of the sharper sections deals with misinformation in Ghanaian communities, where patients are sometimes urged to rely only on unproven herbal preparations or spiritual interventions while putting off a hospital diagnosis.
The queen mother does not dismiss faith. She describes it as a source of comfort, hope and strength, but says it should not become a reason to avoid proper medical care.
Beyond the hospital
The commentary also notes that a diagnosis reaches past the body. It can affect appearance, relationships, work, finances and confidence, and it puts emotional and financial strain on families and caregivers. Her appeal is that no patient should be blamed, shamed or left to cope alone.
For Ghanaians abroad who often fund medical bills back home, the practical message is the same one she gives families in Ghana: encourage a relative who notices an unusual breast change to see a health professional early, rather than waiting.
