Kumasi, Oct. 08, GNA - A Breast Cancer Foundation to generate funds to assist needy women in the treatment of breast cancer has been inaugurated in Kumasi. Felibat Breast Care and Cancer Foundation is in honour of Mrs Felicity Mensah Boahen 44, who died from the disease about seven years ago.

It is the joint initiative of Breast Care International (BCI) a Kumasi-based NGO on Breast Cancer Awareness and management of Felibat Cold Store in Kumasi.

Dr (Mrs) Beatrice Wiafe-Addai, Specialist in Breast Pathology and President of BCI said breast cancer was a reality in Ghana but unfortunately there had not been much awareness on it especially among women.

She said it was a disease that could be treated when detected early but three main factors that had hampered its awareness were, poverty, illiteracy and ignorance.

Dr Wiafe-Addai who is also a Surgeon and Executive Director of Peace and Love Hospital at Oduom, Kumasi said the NGO had created much awareness about the disease but the problem was how to fight poverty, illiteracy and ignorance in the society. "Most of the affected women are poor and their men leave them when they have the disease. When the foundation has enough funds, many women would be treated," she added.

On activities of BCI, Dr Wiafe-Addai said since its inception about five years ago, it had screened 40,000 women free of charge of the disease nation-wide.

Nana Mark Anthony Mensah Boahen, Managing Director of Felibat Cold Store, said treatment of breast cancer was costly and after his wife's death decided to assist other women. He said since its establishment about two years ago, the foundation had assisted in providing treatment to two women with breast cancer. Most Reverend Daniel Yinkah Sarfo, Anglican Bishop of Kumasi inaugurating the foundation, said breast related diseases had robbed many families of able-bodied breadwinners.

He said the initiative was commendable and urged all and sundry to support it to save lives of many women when the disease was detected early.

Madam Elizabeth Agyemang, Member of Parliament for Oforikrom appealed to philanthropists, organisations and institutions to assist the foundation to save the lives of women especially poor women afflicted by the disease. She announced that about 3,000 people from her constituency had been assisted to register with the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) at a cost of 10,000 Ghana cedis.