BREAST CANCER AWARENESS MONTH 2019
Hello hello peeps, I do hope everyone is doing great amidst this crisis. Everything is going to be alright and I'm extremely sorry I couldn't update you guys on much last year. Decided to use this opportunity to blog on how the 2019 breast cancer awareness month went. Got caught up in a lot of stuff and chose to co!e back in full force.
We all know planning an event is not,and I repeat, an easy task unless of course you want to do a shoddy task. Planning the usual events of organising schools, television stations, churches,financial institutions to spread awareness on breast cancer was really hectic but very worth it.
For October 2019, Pink For Africa decided to tour the Keta and Sogakope side of the Volta region and was able to educate 10 schools including a nursing school since we believe they are the driving force of the health sector. We also were able to educate 6 churches and a radio station in the Keta/Anloga area. 2019 breast cancer awareness month was a very roller coaster one as well as enlightening and we are also very elated with how well we were received by the natives.
We left accra on the early morning around 4am and were in the Volta region by 7. Our first appointment was in the EP church in keta where the overseer welcomed us warmly and was pleased we had taken that initiative to come and educate them. We had to stay through both the first and second services and the natives were very happy to be educated. We visited two other churches including an Anglican and Roman Catholic where both the reception was pleasant with lots of questions being asked in all the churches. We even had a member of the EP church approach us to help his sister whose case was very intense and beyond saving. He needed us to talk to his sister to offer our support emotionally and if possible convince her to undergo surgery to cut off her breast to alleviate her pain. After talking to her we realized there was not much we could do for her since she had the mentality that the breast is a vital part of the human body which it is and cutting it off for her means she's going to be incomplete and be ridiculed by society. So she'd rather die than go through the surgery. As a matter of fact,we convincing her to undergo the surgery was to alleviate her pain since she was beyond saving.the cancer had reached almost every part of her body so to make death easier, She needed to get it cut off.. Hmmmm very tough situations we experience doing this job.
She's a very beautiful and young woman with 3 young daughters to look up to but societal construct had made her feel she's less of a woman if she decided to cut off her breasts. What has the world come to? Are there ways, means or measures we can put in place to let women feel whole after going through breast cancer?
While we were out there educating the natives, we were also having fun. Surrounded by the beauty of the sea, it's clean water, beautiful sceneries , clean sand very good food. Everything was freshly made; the best was their banku with okro soup. Everybody needs to experience such beauty, peace and serenity. Shoutouts to our lovely host, Elinam Sallah, a beautiful soul with a good heart.
The next couple of days were very tiring and cumbersome but by the grace of God we were able to sail through it and educate as many people as pissible.
Educating the senior high schools and nursing school were by far the best. Their reactions and questions were amazing and challenging. It was so beautiful to see the youth have such interest in knowing the pros and cons on breast cancer followed with a lot of cheering on learning about the breasts.
I’d also use this opportunity to encourage everyone to be kind and compassionate towards one another as said in Ephesians 4:32. Everybody is fighting a battle we know nothing about so our kind words and thoughtfulness can go a long way to help others feel better and motivate them as well. Also, breast cancer cannot, and I repeat cannot be transmitted thought physical contact with another person with breast cancer. We encouraging and being supportive of anyone with breast cancer can help prolong their lifespan.
The notion that you only get the disease through a terrible sin you have committed that’s why the disease has been inflicted on you is a mentality a lot of people need to get rid of. This can usually be done through a lot of intensive education, research and listening to survival stories.
We also need to make the effort to make people come out of their shell to talk about their survival stories which is one of the ways for people to be educated and take some measures to take care of themselves.
We left accra on the early morning around 4am and were in the Volta region by 7. Our first appointment was in the EP church in keta where the overseer welcomed us warmly and was pleased we had taken that initiative to come and educate them. We had to stay through both the first and second services and the natives were very happy to be educated. We visited two other churches including an Anglican and Roman Catholic where both the reception was pleasant with lots of questions being asked in all the churches. We even had a member of the EP church approach us to help his sister whose case was very intense and beyond saving. He needed us to talk to his sister to offer our support emotionally and if possible convince her to undergo surgery to cut off her breast to alleviate her pain. After talking to her we realized there was not much we could do for her since she had the mentality that the breast is a vital part of the human body which it is and cutting it off for her means she's going to be incomplete and be ridiculed by society. So she'd rather die than go through the surgery. As a matter of fact,we convincing her to undergo the surgery was to alleviate her pain since she was beyond saving.the cancer had reached almost every part of her body so to make death easier, She needed to get it cut off.. Hmmmm very tough situations we experience doing this job.
She's a very beautiful and young woman with 3 young daughters to look up to but societal construct had made her feel she's less of a woman if she decided to cut off her breasts. What has the world come to? Are there ways, means or measures we can put in place to let women feel whole after going through breast cancer?
While we were out there educating the natives, we were also having fun. Surrounded by the beauty of the sea, it's clean water, beautiful sceneries , clean sand very good food. Everything was freshly made; the best was their banku with okro soup. Everybody needs to experience such beauty, peace and serenity. Shoutouts to our lovely host, Elinam Sallah, a beautiful soul with a good heart.
The next couple of days were very tiring and cumbersome but by the grace of God we were able to sail through it and educate as many people as pissible.
Educating the senior high schools and nursing school were by far the best. Their reactions and questions were amazing and challenging. It was so beautiful to see the youth have such interest in knowing the pros and cons on breast cancer followed with a lot of cheering on learning about the breasts.
I’d also use this opportunity to encourage everyone to be kind and compassionate towards one another as said in Ephesians 4:32. Everybody is fighting a battle we know nothing about so our kind words and thoughtfulness can go a long way to help others feel better and motivate them as well. Also, breast cancer cannot, and I repeat cannot be transmitted thought physical contact with another person with breast cancer. We encouraging and being supportive of anyone with breast cancer can help prolong their lifespan.
The notion that you only get the disease through a terrible sin you have committed that’s why the disease has been inflicted on you is a mentality a lot of people need to get rid of. This can usually be done through a lot of intensive education, research and listening to survival stories.
We also need to make the effort to make people come out of their shell to talk about their survival stories which is one of the ways for people to be educated and take some measures to take care of themselves.
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