Late detection accounts for increasing cancer cases
Late detection accounts for 30 per cent of the estimated 200 childhood cancer cases that are reported annually at the Department of Child Health of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH), the Head of the department, Prof. Lorna Awo Renner, has revealed.
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According to her, most parents failed to send their children who suffer from cancers to the KBTH early because of delays in referrals by health facilities.
Most of the parents also abandon treatment for children who suffer from cancer because they are unable to pay for the cost of treating it, and this situation has hampered the effective treatment of the disease,” she told the Daily Graphic last Sunday.
Support for cancer victims
Prof. Rennar made this known in an interview after she received GH¢43,200 from the Immanuel Society of the Methodist Church of Ghana, Airport East Circuit, to cater for the total cost of treatment for nine children suffering from cancer.
The gesture by the church formed part of its humanitarian initiative to support poor parents to seek medical care for cancerous children.
Since November 2016, the Immanuel Society of the Methodist Church has contributed a total of GH¢140,413 to support cancer patients at the KBTH.
Early detection
Prof. Renner explained that cancer among children was not easily detected because the symptoms could be confused with malaria, anaemia and boils.
“What the public need to know is that early diagnosis could prevent about 75 per cent of cancers of the eye, kidney and lymphoma. There is the need to look for early symptoms, including signs of malaria, anaemia, swellings on parts of the body and seek early treatment,” she added.
Prof. Renner said about 60 per cent of children cured of cancer could live up to 60 years of productive labour.
In view of the inability of some parents to pay for the cost of treatment of their children’s cancer, Prof. Renner called for childhood cancer to be included in the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).
Testimony
In appreciation of the donation by the church, a parent of one of the beneficiaries (name withheld), described the kind gesture as timely, saying “this donation will save my child’s life.”
Recounting his experiences at the hospital as a breast cancer survivor, the Steward of the Immanuel Society, Mr Abeeku Arthur, reiterated the urgent need to support cancer patients.
“Parents and guardians are losing their children and wards to cancer because they are unable to pay as little as GH¢100”, he added.