Beyond Pink Ribbons: Gold Fields Launches School-Based Breast Cancer Crusade

Gold Fields Ghana has launched a provocative and proactive community health campaign, and it started with a surprisingly frank conversation at a local high school.

Kicking off during the 70th-anniversary celebrations of Fiaseman Senior High School, the initiative saw Dr Magdalene Bakari, Lead Specialist for Health Services at Gold Fields Ghana, deliver a talk that blended practical health screening with candid advice rarely heard in such forums.“We are here to screen our women and support them to ensure that everyone survives,” Dr Bakari stated. The program includes on-the-spot clinical screenings to detect breast cancer early, ensuring timely treatment.

But the session went far beyond standard medical advice. Dr Bakari addressed the role of the breast with striking honesty, acknowledging its functions for aesthetics, nutrition, and pleasure. In a direct message to the community, she drew a crucial distinction for cancer prevention.

“I cannot deny our men access to the breast, but we also need to know that one of the things that protects our women is breastfeeding and not the sucking by men,” she stated. “So, yes, the pleasure is necessary, but let's also ensure that our women breastfeed and we do not deny our babies the needed breast milk.”

Her advice to the young female students was equally forthright. She urged them to begin regular self-examinations and strongly advocated for sexual abstinence to prevent teenage pregnancies from derailing their education. Commending the school for its policy of supporting pregnant students, she advised against unsafe abortions, encouraging young mothers to “see it through, have the babies and continue our education.”

The school event is just the beginning. Dr Bakari outlined an ambitious schedule for October, Breast Cancer Awareness Month, with plans to reach market women at the Damang main market and host a major health outreach at the Atuabo Astro turf. The campaign encourages all community members, including men, to participate in the screenings and health talks.

By merging clinical services with open, pragmatic conversations, Gold Fields Ghana is highlighting a hands-on model for corporate health intervention, proving that effective awareness requires going far beyond a symbolic ribbon.

Source: Nana Esi Brew Monney

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