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Breast cancer has no gender
Breast cancer is not women affair
Whenever breast cancer is mentioned, the attention is centred on the feminine gender only. This is not bad since females stand a greater risk of getting it. However, it is rather sad that very little or no attention is given to the masculine gender though they also stand a risk of getting breast cancer.
October, the 10th month of every year, has been set aside for creating breast cancer awareness. This started in 1985 between the American Cancer Society and the Pharmaceutical division of Imperial Chemical Industries. This period makes use of the pink colour to create awareness. Breast cancer is a cancer that forms in cell of the breast. This cancer is common in women however, men also stand the risk of getting it.
According to the Mayo Clinic Family Health book edition five, breast cancer mostly occurs in two types: Invasive ductal carcinoma. This cancer is when it starts in the duct and grows outside it and into other parts of the breast which may spread to the body. Invasive lobula carcinoma. It begins in the lobules and to other breast tissues close by.
Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS). This is not really considered a kind of breast cancer but rather a breast disease that may lead to breast cancer. But in this case, the cancer cells are only in the lining of ducts, and not spread to other tissues in the breast yet.
Doctor Scott C. Lintin a health practitioner and author of the book, mentions that symptoms of breast cancer in men may include; lump in the breast, nipple discharge, pain in the nipple area, redness of the breast area, itches of breast skin. However, these symptoms appear to be same in women as it is in men.
He discloses that men who stand a greater risk of breast cancer include; aging (approximately after age 50), obesity in older men, genetic mutations; inherited changes (BRCA1 and BRCA2), family history of breast cancer especially a close family member, liver disease because they cause decrease in androgen and increase in estrogen rising the risk of breast cancer in men.
Men who had radiation therapy to the chest have a higher risk of breast cancer, hormone therapy treatment; by using drugs that contain estrogen, to treat prostate cancer in the past, can also increase risk of breast cancer in men, klinefelter syndrome; is a generic condition in men where men have more X chromosomes leading to height level of estrogen and lower level of androgen, testicle conditions like swelling in, injury to, or surgery to remove the testicles.
Ways of reducing the occurrence of breast cancer in men are; seek genetic counseling if there are any records of breast cancer in the family which was known to high as a result of any of the genetic causes above, genetic testing can also be very helpful regular exercise and maintaining a healthy weight.
As females go to the hospital for breast cancer screening, it is advisable that men do same since they also stand a risk of getting breast cancer and this activity should be done approximately every two years.
By Bintu Kuchando
The writer is a student of Ghana Institute of Journalism
Writer’s email: bintukuchando@gmail.com
One of the issues we have been grappling with as a nation is corruption, and it has had such a devastating effect on our national development. I have been convinced that until morality becomes the foundation upon which our governance system is built, we can never go forward as a nation.
Our traditional practices, which have shaped our cultural beliefs, have always espoused values that have kept us along the straight and the narrow and have preserved our societies since ancient times.
These are values that frown on negative habits like stealing, cheating, greediness, selfishness, etc. Our grandparents have told us stories of societies where stealing was regarded as so shameful that offenders, when caught, have on a number of instances committed suicide.
In fact, my mother told me of a story where a man who was living in the same village as her mother (my grandmother), after having been caught stealing a neighbour’s cockerel, out of shame committed suicide on a mango tree. Those were the days that shameful acts were an abomination.
Tegare worship, a traditional spiritual worship during which the spirit possesses the Tegare Priest and begins to reveal secrets, was one of the means by which the society upheld African values in the days of my grandmother and the early childhood days of my mother.
Those were the days when the fear of being killed by Tegare prevented people from engaging in anti-social vices. These days, people sleeping with other people’s wives are not uncommon.
These wrongful behaviour was not countenanced at all by Tegare. One was likely going to lose his life on days that Tegare operates, and so unhealthy habits like coveting your neighbour’s wife was a taboo.
Stealing of other people’s farm produce, for instance, could mean certain death or incapacitation of the whole or part of the body in the full glare of everybody. People realised that there were consequences for wrongdoing, and this went a long way to motivate the society to adhere to right values.
Imagine a President being sworn into office and whoever administers the oath says, “Please say this after me: I, Mr. …., do solemnly swear by God, the spirits of my ancestors and the spirits ruling in Ghana, that should I engage in corrupt acts, may I and my family become crippled, may madness become entrenched in my family, may incurable sicknesses and diseases be my portion and that of my family, both immediate and extended.”
Can you imagine a situation where a few weeks afterwards the President goes to engage in corrupt acts and we hear of his sudden demise or incapacitation and confessing that he engaged in corrupt acts before passing or before the incapacitation—and the effect it will have on his successor? I believe we have to critically examine this option to curb corruption.
My grandmother gave me an eyewitness account of one such encounter where a woman died instantly after the Tegare Priest had revealed a wrong attitude she had displayed during the performance on one of the days scheduled for Tegare spirit manifestation.
According to her story, the Priest, after he had been possessed by the spirit, declared that for what the woman had done, he would not forgive her and that he would kill. Instantly, according to my grandmother, the lady fell down suddenly and she died—just like what happened to Ananias and his wife Sapphira in Acts Chapter 5.
NB: ‘CHANGE KOTOKA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT TO KOFI BAAKO
By Laud Kissi-Mensah
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Emotional distortions can indeed have a profound impact on an individual’s mental health and well-being. These distortions can lead to a range of negative consequences, including anxiety, depression, and impaired relationships.
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A path towards healing
Emotional surgery offers a promising approach to addressing emotional distortions and promoting emotional well-being. By acknowledging the impact of emotional pain and seeking to provide a comprehensive and compassionate approach to healing, individuals can take the first step towards recovery and improved mental health.
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BY ROBERT EKOW GRIMMOND-THOMPSON
