Taming all forms of cancer

The cry all over the place is that cancer is killing our mothers, sisters and aunties, although the disease is not gender bias. Our fathers, brothers and uncles are also at risk.

For some time now, there have been many reported cases of cancer afflicting men and women of all ages, scuffing the life out of otherwise productive members of our society.

Cancer of all forms used to afflict people above 50 in the past. Today, some children are at risk. So far, there appears to be no cure to the disease; at best health professionals offer some form of treatment.

Unorthodox practitioners, such as herbalists and faith healers, claim to have a cure for the disease.

It is difficult to trace the causes of the disease beyond lifestyle and family history. However, we have been told by health professionals to report any strange developments in the breast, the prostrate and cervix, as it is believed that early detection can help in the management of the disease.

Various campaigns have been organised by the Ministry of Health, the Ghana Health Service and non-governmental organisations working in the health sector to educate the people on the disease and the dangers associated with it.

Last Saturday, one of such NGOs, Breast Care International Ghana (BCIG), organised a walk on the theme, “Join the Fight — Together we can make a difference”, to create awareness of breast cancer.

It is unfortunate that women, who form the majority of our population, are most at risk, making the disease one of the most dangerous in our times. It wipes away breadwinners, leaving dependants destitute.

The Daily Graphic is worried that although we all acknowledge the danger of the disease, not much attention has been given to it, just like HIV/AIDS, because of the stigma attached to it.

In some communities, the people believe that when you are afflicted by the disease, it means that you have been handed down a death sentence by the gods.

The people feel that there is no cure, but that is not so because if it is detected early, it can be managed very effectively.

We commend BCIG for its initiative to create awareness of the disease, with the view to encouraging people to seek early treatment for this health concern.

The Daily Graphic is equally happy that the government has decided to include screening and examination for breast cancer under the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), so that every woman can access the scheme to know her status as far as cancer is concerned.

The decision to also set up a National Cancer Registry to capture data on breast cancer is a step in the right direction, so that the government can craft a national response to deal with the ravaging nature of the disease in recent times.

While addressing participants in the exercise, President John Mahama said the government would support the training of public health nurses in the screening and treatment of breast cancer.

Public health nurses are always in touch with the communities and training more of such nurses will help in the crusade to prevent the disease, instead of waiting for it to occur before we seek treatment, which is difficult to come by.

The Daily Graphic urges all hands to be on deck to fight this dangerous disease once and for all.

Daily Graphic/Ghana