Dr. Kwame Anim Boamah, the Director of the Koforidua Regional Hospital, has appealed to breast cancer survivors to accept to do more to inspire others suffering from the disease to seek medical treatment.

He said they were the “living testimony” that patients could be saved - to lead normal life, given early report of the disease to the hospital for treatment,

Dr. Boamah was speaking at the second annual general meeting of breast cancer survivors in Koforidua.

It formed part of activities lined up for the breast cancer awareness week celebration with support from JEAD Foundation – a breast cancer support group.

The event provided the platform for the participants to share their individual experiences – some of them having lived for more than 10 years after they underwent surgery to remove the cancerous breast.

Dr. Boamah indicated that there was currently no known herbal cure for the disease and advised the people to ignore spurious claims of cure by some herbalists.

He expressed worry about the situation where patients stopped their medication and resorted to the use of herbs only to come back to the hospital, when things had worsened.

Dr. Foster Amponsah-Manu, Surgical Specialist at the Hospital, asked all to overcome the myths and misconceptions they had about the disease, adding that, it was not true that removal of the cancerous breast would hasten the death of the patient.

He counseled the cancer survivors to go for regular review to allow for close monitoring of their progress.

He asked financially-challenged patients, recommended to undergo surgery or chemotherapy treatment to be bold to tell their doctors about their difficulties since there could be assistance for such people.

Ms. Jean Ellen Awuah-Darku, Executive Director of JEAD Foundation, advised the breast cancer survivors to take good care of their diet.