Fighting Breast Cancer: Social Media Echoes the Fight
October is here again, a month dedicated to breast cancer awareness and the campaign is pretty viral on social media.
Hashtags like #PinkOctober, #ChokeBreastCancer, #BreastCancerAwareness, #EarlyDetectionSavesLives, etc are flooding the internet to spread the message.
Breast cancer survivors and warriors have taken to Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to sensitise the public on preventing and treating the disease.
Their posts on social media include pictures and articles on the subject.
Some Non-Governmental Organisations on their part are using the social media to announce awareness walks and other sensitisation events on breast cancer.
#DYK A risk factor is an attribute or characteristic that increases an individual’s likelihood of developing a disease.
Knowing the risk factors of #breastcancer is the first step towards prevention, early detection and early management. #BreastCancerAwareness#PinkOctober pic.twitter.com/tU7zuEpqR3
— HERO Cameroon (@HeroCameroon) October 9, 2019
Some warriors and organisations have also used social media to call on their followers to dress in pink as part of raising awareness.
Here is an Open Invitation to You All!!!
Programme:
7 am – Assembly at Parcour Vita Gate
8 am – Take off to Mt Febe ( Stop at Love Stone)
10 am – Back to Parcour Vita Gate…closing remarks and refreshmentsDress Code: Pink#BreastCancerAwarenessWalk#WelisaneFoundation pic.twitter.com/DNE6dBfGME
— Welisane Foundation (@WelisaneFoundat) October 14, 2019
Games especially charades have also sprung up online where women post a colour on their status without any explanation as part the awareness campaign against cancer of the breast.
Men are not left out of the campaign. While some have gotten involved in the sensitisation activities, they have also been cautioned on the fact that they too could suffer from the disease.
#DYK men also have #BreastCancer? That’s right. About 1% of breast cancers occur in men.
What puts men at risk of breast cancer?
–Age > 60 years
–History of breast cancer in the family
–Excessive alcohol consumption
–Smoking
–Liver disease
–Obesity #BreastCancerAwareness pic.twitter.com/6uSU5GRFpR— HERO Cameroon (@HeroCameroon) October 11, 2019
All these efforts are geared at sensitising everyone on how to prevent and manage breast cancer, a disease in which cells in the breast grow out of control.
Eleanor Ayuketah Ngochi