Conquer Breast Cancer By Self-Testing

Pini Bothoko | Monday October 9, 2017 16:29

Speaking at a cancer awareness ladies’ charity event held at Phakalane on Saturday, the public relations officer for Journey of Hope, Onica Lekuntwane appealed to women, especially to be more observant of their breasts.

Lekuntwane said her organisation, as committed as it is to combatting the killer disease, tours the country regularly to sensitise the nation.

“Journey of Hope is concerned with high numbers of women who are usually diagnosed with breast cancer when it’s already late. Our wish is too see more and more women concerned with their health, especially their breasts to notice any abnormalities at early stages. If lumps can be detected at an early stage, it is possible for them to be cured. Don’t wait until it’s too late to seek medical attention on time,” Lekuntwane said.

She said that there is a possibility ofbreast cancer being eliminated if people could be observant enough to establish any abnormalities in their bodies as early as possible.

She encouraged women who graced the event to learn to do breast self-test once every month.

She said people should know what lumps look and feel like as this helps to know what changes to look for. She said is to touch, look and check for lamps doing a circular motion around your breasts.

“Breast cancer spreads like watermelon seed, which germinates and then spreads around.

It can start with a small lump and if not attended to it will spread to the entire body. It can end up causing lung, liver, bone, brain cancer to mention but a few. If you notice any abnormalities in your breasts like rash, lumps or reddish discolouration on your nipples, or when the other breast is more bigger than the other visit the nearest clinic,” Lekuntwane said.

She encouraged women to do their self-tests in front of their partners because the idea is to eliminate the stigmatisation of cancer amongst their partners.

She said that there are certain risk factors that contribute to the development of breast cancer like family history, alcohol, cigarette smoking, obesity and lack of physical activity. But she stated that one could still have cancer without those risk factors.

Speaking to The Monitor on the sideline of the event, Phakalane Golf Estate hotel’s assistant manager for food and beverages, Merlyn Francis said that since October it is a breast cancer awareness month, for a change they decided to organise a charity event in which 10% of its profits will be given to Journey of Hope.

“We sold tables to companies for P2,500 and P200 per person. Looking at today’s turn-up, we are expecting to collect between P4,000 and P6,000. We are here to bring cancer awareness messages closer to women so that they can be informed and take action early,” Francis said.