Under the theme “Together We’re Stronger: Let’s Share, Let’s Care,” the initiative aimed to promote regular screenings and highlight the importance of early detection.
Speaking at the event’s opening ceremony, Mariyann Jabang, Director of Gender Equality and Women Empowerment and representative of the Ministry of Women, Children, and Social Welfare, emphasized the event’s theme, underscoring the strength of community support and awareness.
“The Theme highlights the importance of supporting breast cancer networks, the importance of early detection, timely diagnosis, comprehensive treatment, and the need to provide support for persons with lived experiences of breast cancer,” she said
Dr. Lamin B.A. Jaiteh, consultant surgeon and Chair of the Clinical Sub-Committee at EFSTH, discussed the prevalence of breast and cervical cancer in The Gambia, stressing the importance of routine screenings for early diagnosis and effective treatment.
“If you put Breast and cervical cancer together, they make up about 65 to 70% of cancers in women, so today, through these screenings, we are going to be looking at 70% of cancers that affects women in this country, and I think if we are able to achieve that, that will be a very remarkable feat because both these cancers, if detected on time, the outcomes of those patients will be as if they never had cancer before,” he said.
EFSTH Surgeon Dr. Ousman Sanyang also highlighted the role of early detection, especially in breast cancer, as crucial to improving survival rates and treatment outcomes.
“It is better for us to prevent; it is better for us to detect early and keep patients so that their outcomes will be better, and then early detection saves lives. It is better for us to present early, and we can only do that by coming together. It is our responsibility to jointly work together to make sure that we can fight against the disease,” he said.
Banjul Mayor Rohey Malick Lowe encouraged women to prioritize their health with regular screenings, extending beyond October.
In her closing remarks, Dr. Fatou Mata Gitteh urged everyone to support cancer awareness, noting that cancer affects people indiscriminately.
