When the Air Turns Toxic: How Pollution Fuels Breast Cancer and Hypertension

This week on Clean Air Report Ghana, host Michael Asharley connects the dots between the air we breathe and the diseases we fear most. It’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month — but beyond lifestyle and genetics, could Ghana’s polluted air be a silent trigger?In this episode, Jennifer Ambolley of The Chronicle Newspaper shares the stories of market women battling breast cancer while working in smoke-filled stalls and roadside chaos. Then, Kayleb Ahinakwah takes us to the streets, where hawkers breathing in exhaust fumes all day are showing alarming rates of hypertension.From busy markets to congested highways, the episode reveals how air pollution is not just an environmental problem — it’s a growing public health crisis linked to some of Ghana’s most pressing diseases.Clean Air Report Ghana is a collaboration between New Narratives and leading Ghanaian newsrooms. Funding is provided by the Clean Air Fund which had no say in the reporting.