No traditional medicine or herbs can cure breast cancer; i''ve tried it all and here i'm — Patient reveals

A twenty-six-year-old breasts cancer patient, Abena Mensah, who is battling for her life is advocating against the use of traditional medicines in treating breast cancer disease.

She said if she had listened to medical advice about the negative effect of traditional medicine used for treatment for breast cancer, her breast cancer would not have reached a dangerous stage.

The patient came to Peace and Love Hospital at Oduom, in the Asokwa Municipal of the Ashanti region on Tuesday, January 11, with swollen, disfigured and discoloured breasts.

She burst into uncontrollable tears when doctors at the facility after diagnoses told of her current condition and her little chance of survival.

Narrating her situation, she said “I came to Peace and Love Hospital with lumps in my breasts. They said a lab test must be conducted to find out what exactly they were, I was afraid so I ran away.”

She added, “I got pregnant along the way, a nurse during an antenatal, told me to visit Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) for breast cancer treatment. At KATH, I was told that a mastectomy (removal of the breast) must be performed to save my life, I was afraid too so I ran away.”

She continued that her last hope was to resort to traditional medicines she had been hearing on radio stations, “and after sometimes, my breasts disfigured, discharging unpleasant fluids, with one breast swelling and the other shrinking”.

Anguishing in pain, she pleaded with her fellow women to heed medical advice on breasts cancer. In her experience, she said, “no traditional medicine or herbs can cure breast cancer”.

The Consultant Surgeon at the Peace and Love Hospital, Dr Mrs Beatrice Wiafe Addai, told this reporter that the patient’s case is at the late stage (Stage 4), and palliative treatment is the only option.

“Her Prognoses (survival for late stages of breast cancer) is poor; giving her a little chance of one year to survive. All that we can do is to give her palliative treatment to keep her going,” she said.

Dr Mrs Beatrice Wiafe Addai, who is the CEO of Peace and Love Hospitals, reiterated her call on reporting early cases of breast cancer for prompt actions to prevent premature deaths among women.