Breast Cancer Awareness Month appears to have echoes not only in the United States but also on the African continent. For instance, women in Kenya are also learning how to detect early signs of the disease. It’s no longer a secret that early detection of breast cancer leads to better outcomes. According to recent figures, if breast cancer is detected early, the five-year survival rate for breast cancer exceeds 90 percent.

One in nine Kenyan women is diagnosed with breast cancer. Most don’t have the financial resources to deal with the disease while some find out when it’s already too late. Cancer treatment is expensive in Kenya. After surgery, patients must go through hormonal radiotherapy or chemotherapy treatment. The cheapest drug involved in chemotherapy cost about $120, a fee most Kenyans can’t afford. That’s why breast cancer organizations here have one more reason to fight: to lower the costs of the drugs involved in the treatment of breast cancer.

Every year, breast cancer kills around 40,000 women globally. In Kenya it’s the second most diagnosed form of cancer today. This is why the Kenya’s Breast Health Program, a local NGO run by the country’s survivors, organized a local five-kilometer walk in the capital of Nairobi to raise awareness about the disease. The main message of the event was how to raise public awareness on breast cancer. According to the latest statistics, not only women are predisposed to developing breast cancer. Men are also at risk of developing cancer. That’s why both men and women are encouraged to get tested in order to catch breast cancer early enough.

About 1,500 people paid around $12 to attempt this year’s event. Catherine Ngaracu, a breast cancer survivor, helped organizing the walk and was pleased with the turn out.

All the money raised will go to medical centers providing free breast examinations in the country. All women need to be aware of their health, especially the health of their breasts, Ngaracu said. They need to get tested on regular basis especially if they are over the age of 40. The incidence of breast cancer increases dramatically after age fifty, with fifty percent of breast cancers diagnosed in women over the age of forty-five.

Currently there are a series of methods to detect breast cancer including self and clinical breast exams, x-ray mammography and breast Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). There are many activities in Kenya this month teaching women how to detect breast cancer on their own and then look for help if needed. Battling breast cancer is not easy task but once the battle started there are good chances to have a full recovery.

Breast cancer is currently the second most common type of cancer worldwide, following lung cancer and also the fifth most common cause of cancer death.