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Mammogram doesn’t cause breast cancer …Dr Victoria Partey-Newman sets record straight
Dr Victoria Partey-Newman
Mammograms are breast x-rays that help health professionals to detect the minutest lump or abnormality in the breast during screening. But it is surprising to note that some women think this method is rather the cause of breast cancer.
This is one of the myths that Dr Victoria Partey-Newman of the Ladybits Health and Wellness Clinic in Accra debunked when she was contacted by this reporter in line with the awareness campaign on breast cancer which was recently launched by New Times Corporation at the Kaneshie Market Complex in Accra.
According to her, some women who came to the facility refused to be screened with the mammogram for the fear that it could cause breast cancer.
Explaining the importance of the mammogram, she indicated that “when health professionals do the physical screening with their hands and are not clear, they usually refer the patient to do a mammogram scan so that they would have a better and clearer view of what is happening in the breast in order to detect a lump or abnormality.”
“So the notion that doing mammogram screening would cause breast cancer is untrue,” she stressed.
Highlighting other myths associated with the disease, she said breast cancer should not be associated with spirituality as there were many risk factors which exposed women to the disease.
She intimated that it was inappropriate to tag breast cancer a curse or punishment from the gods when women are diagnosed with the disease.
Dr Partey-Newman said excessive use of alcohol; smoking, obesity and lack of exercise among others could increase the risk of contracting the disease, and, therefore, advised women to adopt healthy lifestyles and be proactive in going for regular check-ups and breast screening.
While urging women to report any anomaly in their breasts or any part of their body promptly at the hospital, she noted that there was no scientific proof that anti-perspirant deodorants could also cause breast cancer.
Background
Dr. Victoria Partey-Newman hails from Odumase- Krobo in the Lower Manya Krobo Municipality of Eastern Region. She is the fourth of seven children born to Mr. Archibald Partey and Mrs. Beatrice Partey.
She had basic education at St. Martin de Porres School and continued at Wesley Girls where she studied General Science.
“Right from my childhood, I have had keen interest in showing compassion to the sick especially those around me. My siblings used to tease that I like it when people fall sick but I tell them I just like to help the sick that’s when I got the title” Dr. WHO.” My friends were not surprised when I chose to pursue medicine in the university,” she recalled.
Dr. Partey-Newman said she developed keen interest in women’s health having had the opportunity to head the women’s clinic in the hospital she had worked for four years.
“During this period of ‘servitude’, was when I knew there was no turning back and I pledged my life and course to cater for the health needs of the average Ghanaian woman in the area of breast cancer and cervical cancer with regard to breast screenings and cervical cancer screenings which is a form of secondary prevention in the field of public health,” she explained.
Following this, she decided to pursue a Master’s Programme in Public Health at Ensign Global College to have complete knowledge in her endeavours as a Woman’s Health Advocate.
For the past eight years, she had been involved in organising breast and cervical cancer symposia and screenings in various organisations. Through this, she was honoured as one of the recipients of the “Community Service Award” Ensign Global College in 2021.
According to her, the call to empower and attend to the health needs of women led to the establishment of Ladybits Health and Wellness Foundation in 2019, one of the wings or subsidiaries of the Ladybits Health and Wellness Clinic, a preventive service clinic for women.
“The foundation focuses on women in the rural areas and outskirts of Accra who are disadvantaged and cannot afford to have their breasts examined or have Pap smears done for them on regular basis.
“We empower them by teaching them breast self-examination, symptoms and signs they should look out for when it comes to breast and cervical cancer so that they can report early which eventually increases their chances of survival,” she noted.
Dr. Partey-Newman is a twin. She is married to Bishara Nartey Newman and blessed with a son. She loves swimming, singing and enjoying good conversations. Her twin sister is Ms. Vida Partey.
She said “my mother is my strongest inspiration as she always encouraged us to aspire to greater heights.”
By Portia Hutton-Mills
President John Dramani Mahama has commissioned four career diplomats as ambassador-designates to represent Ghana in four countries.
The commissioning ceremony took place on Friday, October 16, 2026.
The new envoys are Her Excellency Nana Antwiwaa Dodoo, Ambassador-Designate to Angola; His Excellency Louis Kwame Obeng, Ambassador-Designate to Qatar; Her Excellency Evelyn Korantemaa Ofosu-Amable, Ambassador-Designate to Israel; and His Excellency Jedidiah Reuben Adogla, Permanent Representative-Designate to Switzerland.
President Mahama charged them to advance Ghana’s national interests through strategic partnerships, economic diplomacy, investment mobilization, and expanded access to international markets.
He said Ghana’s diplomatic engagements must deliver tangible economic benefits, create jobs, and strengthen the country’s standing on the international stage.
The four envoys are career diplomats with over 27 years of experience.
On behalf of her colleagues, Her Excellency Nana Antwiwaa Dodoo thanked the President for the confidence reposed in them and pledged their commitment to emulate his leadership and deliver on the mandate given to them.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
The professor who spends his days exploring the intricacies of African languages found himself at the centre of a different kind of lesson on Friday, October 2, 2026. 
This time, there were no lecture notes, academic arguments or university classrooms. Instead, there was the weight of tradition, the rhythm of a community celebration and the solemnity of an oath at a royal palace.
Professor Ọbádélé Kambon, a full Professor of African Linguistics at the University of Ghana, was enstooled as Apagyahene and Sunsum Ɔsahene of Akuapem Mampong in the Eastern Region in a ceremony that brought academia and traditional authority together.
For the professor, the occasion was more than a new title. It was a moment that connected his academic interests in African languages and indigenous knowledge with the living traditions of an Akan community.
The day’s events unfolded through a series of customary observances. Kambon was first taken to the compounds of the Ɔkyeamehene and Gyasehene, where the preparations for his installation continued.
Then came the application of hyire, the white kaolin powder associated with traditional rites.
With the customary proceedings underway, the new chief was lifted onto the shoulders of celebrants and carried along the main thoroughfare of Akuapem Mampong.
The procession transformed the streets into a public stage for a ceremony rooted in the community’s traditional institutions.
There was something striking about the image, a university professor, accustomed to the measured language of academic discourse, being carried through the town in a display of traditional recognition.
Yet the celebration was not complete with the procession.
A ram was sacrificed at the Mamponghene’s compound before Kambon was taken to the palace, to swear the oath associated with his new offices.
The ceremony brought him formally into his roles as Apagyahene and Sunsum Ɔsahene.
Beyond the colourful proceedings, the titles themselves carry layers of historical meaning.
Kambon in his research explores the historical connections between Apagya and Akan political and military organisation.
Accounts cited in his work linked Apagya to an asafo, or military company, while historical writing traces an Apagya stool in Asante to the reign of Opoku Ware I in the eighteenth century.
These historical associations offer a glimpse into the institutions that have shaped Akan society over generations, although they do not automatically define the precise responsibilities of the office in Akuapem Mampong.
Kambon’s own professional life reflects a similar interest in preserving and examining African knowledge.
His work encompasses Akan language structure, naming practices across the Black world, proverbs and indigenous intellectual traditions.
Through Abibitumi, the platform he founded, he also promotes language learning, scholarship and cultural engagement.
But tradition was only one part of the story that day.
When the formal ceremony gave way to a reception, the occasion expanded into a celebration of three milestones: Kambon’s enstoolment, his promotion to full professor and his daughter Ama’s admission to the University of Ghana.
The gathering therefore carried a personal significance that went beyond the honours bestowed on one man. 
It celebrated professional advancement, the continuation of family aspirations and a connection to cultural heritage.
For a father, seeing a daughter gain admission to the same university where he holds a distinguished academic position offered another reason to celebrate.
For the professor, the moment placed family achievement alongside his own professional and traditional milestones.
Kambon had already established a place in the traditional life of Akuapem Mampɔn through an earlier installation as Banmuhene Kyidɔmhene, recorded in 2017.
His latest enstoolment adds another chapter to that relationship.
In Akuapem Mampɔn, the day brought together the university, the palace and the family table in one celebration. And for Kambon, the journey from the lecture room to the traditional procession showed how scholarship, cultural responsibility and family achievement could converge in a single memorable occasion.
By Enoch Ntiamoah Siaw
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