By Aisha Tamba
Dr Hassan Azadeh, a senior lecturer at the University of The Gambia, has urged women to start screening for breast cancer.
According to the latest WHO data published in 2018, breast cancer deaths in The Gambia reached 21 or 0.15% of total deaths. The age-adjusted death rate is 5.57 per 100,000 of population ranks Gambia 178 in the world.
Dr Azadeh speaking on the breast cancer annual campaign to increase awareness of the disease at Medicare in Brusubi organised by the Rotaract Club of Fajara.
Dr Azadeh explained awareness surrounding breast cancer is incredibly important as early detection, often through screening, can catch the disease when it is most treatable.
“There are ways for women to find out if there is any kind of changes in their breasts. If you notice a change in your breasts that seems abnormal or if you notice one breast is different when compared with the other, you can report it to your doctor. A breast self-exam that you do for breast awareness helps you understand the normal look and feel of your breasts.
Breast cancer is not just for older women but there is a great choice that young women to eventually develop breast cancer,” he said.
Further advising women to exercise self-examination regularly to prevent and help the doctor diagnose in an early stage of the disease.
He explained that recent survey done by the NHS in England has shown that over 60 per cent of breast cancer women examine themselves before going to the hospital.
He strengthened that breast cancer treatment has wildly improved from the last 20 years as The Gambia now has doctors and NGOs who are specialised on breast cancer diagnosis.
Hatab Saidy, the President of the Rotaract Club, said the awareness campaign will go until the 30th of this month to help more people understand implications of the unprecedented disease.
