Breast cancer screening and treatment should be regarded as the right of every Ghanaian woman, irrespective of her social or economic status, the First Lady, Lordina Dramani Mahama, has said.
She said no woman should be denied access to breast cancer care because she lived in a rural community, lacked financial resources or faced other social barriers.
“Breast cancer screening and treatment are your rights as a Ghanaian woman, period,” she said.
Mrs Mahama said that in a speech read on her behalf by the Deputy Presidential Spokesperson, Shamima Muslim, at a stakeholders forum of the Breast Society of Ghana’s 7th Annual General and Scientific Meeting in Accra last Thursday.
The two-day meeting was on the theme: “Bridging the Breast Cancer Care Gap for Everyone, Every Step, Everywhere.”
Breast cancer care
Mrs Mahama said breast cancer care should cover the entire journey of a patient, from prevention and awareness to screening, early detection, diagnosis, treatment, survivorship and psychosocial support.
She said the free primary healthcare initiative now included breast cancer screening, while the Ghana Medical Trust Fund was also helping to reduce the financial burden on families following a cancer diagnosis.
She, however, said announcing policies was different from implementing them, and that the impact of government interventions should be seen at clinics and community health centres.
“The success of this initiative will, thus, be measured not in policies written, but in women who are treated and in lives that are saved in futures that are preserved,” she said.
She called on health workers, policymakers, development partners and civil society organisations to ensure that the commitments being made translated into accessible services for women.
The First Lady also urged the Breast Society of Ghana to continue advocating for patients and survivors and to use their experiences to break the stigma associated with breast cancer.
Late diagnosis
The President of the Breast Society of Ghana, Prof. Josephine Nsaful, said between 60 and 80 per cent of breast cancer cases were still being diagnosed at an advanced stage.
She said an advanced disease required prolonged treatment, was more expensive and had less favourable outcomes.
She said a study conducted in 2020 involving 217 patients at three cancer centres in Ghana found that the average total cost of breast cancer treatment was GH¢34,631 per patient.
The amount comprised an average direct medical cost of GH¢18,980, non-medical costs of GH¢2,464 and indirect costs of about GH¢13,000, including income lost by patients and caregivers.
Prof. Nsaful said the financial burden made it difficult for some patients to comply with treatment schedules, particularly those with low incomes.
Economic impact
Prof. Nsaful said breast cancer should not be treated only as a health issue because of its impact on families, but on productivity and the national economy.
She said 89 per cent of the economic losses from breast cancer occurred among women aged between 20 and 59, a group that formed a significant part of the country’s productive workforce.
She, therefore, called for stronger referral pathways, better treatment coordination, multi-year health budgets and expanded geographical and financial access to comprehensive breast cancer care.
The Principal Programme Officer at the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, Sabia Kpekata, who represented the minister, Dr Agnes Naa Momo Lartey, said the ministry was integrating social protection interventions into the national response to breast cancer.
