Journalists look back on a decade of breast cancer reporting in Ghana

For Francis Appiah, a breast cancer awareness campaign in Cape Coast remains unforgettable, not because of the speeches delivered that day, but because of what happened when the rain began. The downpour was heavy, but people continued to turn up for the campaign organised by Breast Care International (BCI). “They came out in their numbers; in their numbers they defied the rains and joined the walk,” says Appiah, the Deputy News Editor at Otec FM.

He remembers another campaign in Tamale, where the heat became so intense that the Ghana National Fire Service brought a fire tender and sprayed water on participants to give them some relief. “These two venues, I can never forget those memories,” he says. Appiah has worked with BCI since the match in 2011.

The experience has taken him beyond covering events as a journalist, giving him knowledge he now shares with women and other members of the public. His account offers a glimpse into the work of journalists who have spent years reporting on breast cancer awareness in Ghana. Their experiences show how health reporting can influence what journalists understand about a disease, the questions they ask and the information they pass on to their audiences.

But their reflections also raise a question: as another awareness march takes place in Mampong in the Ashanti Region, how can years of public education translate into better understanding, earlier medical attention and improved access to treatment? Stories that stay with journalists For Appiah, one of the most affecting encounters involved a woman he remembers as Gifty Joyce, whom he interviewed in the Central Region. He says the woman had breast cancer and initially sought help at a prayer house before someone introduced her to BCI.

By the time she received medical care, her condition was advanced. She underwent a mastectomy, an operation to remove a breast, and survived. “In fact, I even shed tears because of the way she narrated her story,” Appiah recalls.

Her experience left him thinking about women who conceal their diagnosis because they fear stigma and discrimination. He also remembers a student he teaches who told him she had pain in her left breast. After seeking medical attention, a doctor identified a lump.