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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
THE typical itinerant salesman in Sikaman is a herbalist. He is normally a slim macho with the capacity to perambulate the expanse of area covering the triangle of Accra-Tema-Ashiaman. In short, he can walk a total of 60 miles a day, marketing a product that cures every disease, including poverty. 
The door-to-door herbal pharmacist advertises his product by word of mouth. He has nothing to do with the Food and Drugs Board (FDB). After all, his concoctions do not feature on FM stations.
Those herbalists who cannot walk to propagate the herbal gospel, liaise with drivers of mass transportation and their mates. They are, therefore, given the chance to sell their products on Benz buses that ply the routes.
Normally, the herbalist starts his sales message with a prayer and Bible study. He asks the passengers to bow down their heads in supplication to God the father, the son, the Holy Spirit.
When a herbalist asks the passengers to close their eyes and bow their heads, Moslems on board naturally feel offended. They feel that the herbalist has no right to assume that every passenger is a Christian. They think such an assumption is an affront to Islam.
So a Moslem on board will raise the hand for a point of order. He’ll remind the herbalist that it would be in his own interest to mind his language.
“Be careful the way you address people in a public place. Not every person here is a Christian,” he’d state assertively.
Of course, the herbalist will promptly ignore him, but would all the same “watch” his tongue. Who knows whether or not the Moslem brother is inspired by Quoranic zeal to defend the tenets of Islam to the hilt?
When he starts saying, “Wallahi!” and “Inshallah!” it could be the beginning of proclaiming Islam as supreme, a point which must be driven home with talibanic precision.
So the herbalist must tread carefully lest he steps on fire.
The herbalist could even add a measure of mirth to it all, by announcing that Christians on board today have very interesting company on the journey, but that should not detract from the business of the day.
The Moslem brother will weigh the words carefully and offer a wry smile.
He must be careful the occasion does not degenerate into the use of semantics and proverbial oration to deride his conviction that public utterances must be mindful of religious sensibilities. He has made his point very clear and expects that it is taken in good faith in the interest of a peaceful journey.
The herbalist will now open the New Testament and preach salvation, stating clearly that salvation can come only through Jesus Christ and NOBODY else.
The Moslem brother will now start twitching his moustache. The visible and almost revolutionary reflexes of his upper lip can be an indication that sentiments have begun superseding reason, and the outcome could well be tragic now shift uneasily in his seat.
The time has come for him to also express his right to the religion of his fore-bears. He’ll put his hand into his pocket and rise to his feet. The time has indeed come!
This article was first published on Saturday, September 9, 2006
When the cause of a particular problem like sickness, disease, sudden illness, a social issue etc. are not known, it stands to reason that resolving it becomes a huge challenge.
Citizens would understand the government when public announcements are made to the effect that government is trying to find a solution to the issue, even though it is taking a while for it to be resolved because citizens are rational beings.
On the other hand, if the solution to a particular issue is known to everybody but the government for whatever reason, is dragging its feet in resolving it, citizens become frustrated and begin to lose trust in their leaders.
One such issue is the heavy traffic along a section of the Kasoa – Odokor road. A short stretch of bad road between the traffic light at the Weija Government Hospital and the entrance to the entrance of the overhead that leads to the N1, is the cause of the problem but nothing is being done about it, day after day, week after week, month after month. Thus is clearly unacceptable.
Another issue that requires urgent attention is the lack of pavements along a lot of streets in parts of the various Municipal Assemblies. Exercise is a prerequisite for long life and healthy living and for those of us who it has become a way of life, this issue of people putting up structures right to the edge of the drains beside the roads, are making life difficult for us.
We are compelled to walk along the roads, putting our lives at serious risk. Pedestrians should never be compelled to compete with vehicles on our streets and roads. Roads and streets are made for vehicles and pavements are made for pedestrians. That is the norm. Any attempt to normalise a situation where pedestrians are mingling with vehicles is insanity.
It is the road regulations that makes it so and therefore district or municipal assemblies are to take responsibility and ensure that spaces for pavements are not encroached upon. Citizens have rights that must be protected by their leaders and making pavements available to pedestrians, is one of them.
When we hear of teachers having sex with students, it appears it is something recent. It is not a new phenomenon. It has been there since Adam. Perhaps this issue is getting much attention due to the proliferation of social media. It was an open secret in times past when Teachers were in relationships with female students and some married them immediately after completion of school.
Some teachers were also known to be having unholy interactions with female pupils but due to the times that these acts occurred, human rights issues and the awareness around it, allowed such unscrupulous teachers to get away with their crimes.
Now we are in a different era and so a Headmaster is now in hot waters. He is alleged to have raped about 19 female students and as usual, some officials tried to cover it up and are also in hot waters and their actions or inactions in the matter are under investigation.
Why the man has been allowed to roam freely without being arrested is simply mind boggling. It appears that the law applies differently, depending on who you are. This issue came to public attention sometime in August this year, yet the police had not arrested or invited this man for question regarding the rape allegation.
It has come out that he is a Constituency Secretary of the ruling party and the question in the public domain is that, is it because he is a political figure that is why he is still walking around without questioning? I believe in the rule of law so let us hold our breadth and let the proper thing be done.
The police must however be seen to be active in this matter. God bless.
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