A public health nurse at the St Joseph Orthopaedic Hospital, Patricia Sagoe, has asked women, especially traders, to desist from putting mobile phones in their brassieres.
That, she indicated, would make them avoid exposing their breasts to mobile phone radiation and contracting breast cancer.
Ms Sagoe gave the advice during a breast cancer screening exercise organised by ASA Savings and Loans Limited for market women at the main lorry park in the New Juaben South Municipality in the Eastern Region last Wednesday.
She explained that radiation emission from mobile phones was very high when they placed them by their breasts and was therefore capable of causing breast cancer.
According to Ms Sagoe, when a mobile phone was attached to the breast anytime it rang, the vibration entered the breast and that could result in the person contracting breast cancer.
"One risk factor to breast cancer is the exposure to radiation and we know mobile phones emit radiation and when the mobile phone is ringing, it vibrates and the vibration gets into the breast and that can cause cancer in the breast.”
She, therefore, advised women against putting mobile phones by their breast but rather in their bags or purses.
The Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Manager of the company, Richard Nartey, said management decided to organise the exercise for the market women because they were their customers and should be healthy at all times.
He said they decided to undertake the exercise at the lorry park because most of the traders could not leave their wares and go to the hospital for their breasts to be screened or examined against breast cancer.
"We have about 98 per cent of our customers being women and breast cancer being one of the killer diseases of women.
We must ensure that they do not contract it.
We are also considering letting non-customers together with our main customers know their status and go for medication if necessary," he stated.
A woman selling second hand clothing at Koforidua, Ama Loggah, who had her breast screened for the first time, told the Daily Graphic she was grateful to the bank and the hospital for the gesture.