OVL To Boost Breast Cancer Awareness With Outreach, Provide 200 Free Examinations

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In furtherance of its vision to empower women, young people and children in Africa to lead economically productive lives and attain their highest potentials, OVL is set to carry out a Breast Cancer Awareness Outreach on the 24th of October, 2019.

The exercise which is in commemoration of the global Breast Cancer Awareness Month, October, is aimed at increasing attention and support for the awareness, early detection and treatment as well as palliative care of breast cancer. Additionally, the outreach is also about educating women on how to self-examine their breasts as early detection has been proven to save lives.

Relatedly, the outreach will also involve free breast examination for 200 women by trained health care providers. The outreach will be implemented in communities with prevailing situations such as Inaccessible health care infrastructure, high cost of health services, unavailable health delivery system and lack of access to health information.

A statement from the foundation on the objective for the outreach reads, “Currently there is not enough knowledge on the causes of breast cancer, therefore, early detection of the disease remains the cornerstone of breast cancer control. When breast cancer is detected early, and if adequate diagnosis and treatment are available, there is a good chance that breast cancer can be cured. If detected late, however, curative treatment is often no longer an option. In such cases, palliative care to relief the suffering of patients and their families is needed.

“The recommended early detection strategies by World Health Organisation for low- and middle-income countries are awareness of early signs and symptoms and screening by clinical breast examination in demonstration areas. It is therefore expected that at the end of the outreach, participants would have improved knowledge of breast cancer, increased awareness of breast cancer and ability of participants to conduct self-breast examination.”

OVL staff and leadership at an event.

Compared to other types of cancer, breast cancer is by far the most common cancer in women worldwide, both in the developed and developing countries. In 2018, it is estimated that 627,000 women died from breast cancer, it has been observed that the incidence of the disease has been rising steadily in the last years in low- and middle-income countries like Nigeria due to increase in life expectancy, increase urbanization and adoption of western lifestyles.

OVL Foundation has been on the forefront of providing empowerment, mentorship and guidance society’s vulnerable groups since its establishment in 2016. Its objectives have always revolved around empowering women, young people and children in Africa to lead economically productive lives and break free from the shackles of poverty, stagnation and retrogression.

Since it commenced operations, the Foundation has implemented many programs that have catered to the different needs of women and children in Africa in the areas of health care; basic education; empowerment and development; innovative solutions that enhance the progress of young people; and policy advocacy.

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