Breast Care International, the continent’s foremost not-for-profit, pro-health charity, has joined global celebrations against breast cancer and singled out for praise, survivors, who continue to endure the disease under the stress of COVID-19, and its attendant drawbacks.
The global annual breast cancer awareness creation in October was instituted by the Union for International Cancer Control to highlight the myriad of challenges associated with the disease and the need to fight it head-on.
BCI President Dr Beatrice Wiafe Addai said “the charity is interested in maximising opportunities for the collective good of cancer patients, particularly breast cancer survivors.”
Dr Wiafe added: “BCI is resilient and refuses to be outdone by challenges posed by COVID-19, hence, the decision to keep the awareness creation campaign alive with two fund-raising events to ameliorate the living conditions of our survivors.”
A statement issued in Accra to mark the month explained that the first fundraising event will take place in Kumasi on October 10, 2020, at the Jofel Hotel, followed by another on October 24, in Accra at the African Regent Hotel.
The statement said the events will serve as substitutes for BCI’s conventional “WALK FOR THE CURE” program, shelved this year in adherence to COVID-19’s social distancing protocol.
“Health, as a corporate affair, enjoins corporations, associations, partnerships, and individuals to contribute generously, for the welfare of the vulnerable, breast cancer survivors, inclusive.”
“We cannot yield to COVID-19, hence the sustained celebration of our survivors who brave the odds, to maintain public confidence in our mantra that the disease is both curable and survivable”, She emphasized.
The global celebration on the theme, “I AM AND I WILL”, focuses on the commitment to joint action for reduction in the number of premature deaths from cancer and non-communicable diseases, by one third, by 2030.