COUPLE DONATES TO BREAST CARE ORGANISATIN (PAGE 11)

A couple from the United States of America (USA) has donated $500 to Breast Care International (BCI), a Kumasi-based non-governmental organisation (NGO) which has specialised in advocating the early treatment of breast cancer to reduce the cost of treatment and fatalities associated with the disease.
The donation, which was made by Mr Jeff Miller on behalf of his wife, Mrs Kathy Miller, was the couple’s contribution to encourage BCI to intensify its outreach programmes of sensitising women to the dangers associated with breast cancer and also encourage those suffering from the disease to seek early treatment.
Mr Miller, a Professor in Business Leadership based in Indianapolis in the USA, made the donation when he took time off an international conference he was attending at GIMPA in Accra to visit Kumasi where he interacted with the executive members of BCI and the staff of Peace and Love Hospital which has specialised in the treatment of breast cancer.
Making the donation, Mr Miller said he heard about BCI two years ago when his wife, who is a breast cancer specialist, attended a conference in Malaysia and met the President of BCI, Dr (Mrs) Beatrice Wiafe Addai.
He said the brief interaction between Kathy and Dr Wiafe Addai forged a bond of friendship, making it possible for the two ladies to follow each other's progress and challenges in terms of breast cancer cases.
"When I was coming to Ghana for the international conference at GIMPA, my wife made it a point that I visit Kumasi to interact with her friend and also make a personal donation to encourage the NGO to sustain its outreach programmes on breast cancer awareness. This was to ensure that as many women as possible appreciate the need to seek early medical care whenever they have breast related problems," he explained.
He said since breast cancer also affected males, it was important for the educational campaigns on the disease to be carried to every remote part of the country to ensure that the requisite awareness would be created for the public to appreciate the dangers of the disease and seek medical treatment.
Dr (Mrs) Wiafe Addai, who received the donation on behalf of BCI, was full of praise for the couple for the gesture they showed.
She said the donation, being the first by any individual, would encourage BCI to sustain its educational campaign on the disease and gave the assurance that the money would be put to good use.
She appealed to the public to make similar contributions to BCI to enhance its educational campaign on breast cancer.
That, she said, would enable the public to appreciate the dangers associated with the disease and seek early medical treatment to save lives and reduce the cost of treatment.