Health authorities in the Cape Coast Metropolis have called for intensified public education on childhood cancer, following an increasing number of cases being detected among children, including infants as young as three months.
They said the perception that cancer was largely a disease of old age was contributing to delays in recognising symptoms in children and seeking medical attention.
The call was made at the Cape Coast Metropolitan Hospital during a childhood cancer awareness initiative organised by the Little Angels Trust in collaboration with health authorities in the metropolis.
The programme, which coincided with the end of Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, began with a float from the Mfantsipim School Junction through parts of the metropolis and ended at the Cape Coast Metropolitan Hospital, where health professionals, survivors, parents and other stakeholders gathered to raise awareness of the disease.
The Medical Superintendent of the Cape Coast Metropolitan Hospital, Vincent Kudoh, said childhood cancer was more common than many people realised and was being seen regularly in health facilities.
He said although he could not provide specific figures for the hospital, his experience in the health sector showed that cancer was not limited to adults, as some children were diagnosed with the disease within their first few months of life.
“Cancers are not only for the aged or the elderly. As young as newborns, people who are just a few months old, some cancers can be diagnosed among those age groups,” he said.
Dr Kudoh explained that many childhood cancer cases were referred to teaching hospitals, where specialised cancer services were available, making such facilities important centres for monitoring the prevalence of the disease.
Dr Kudoh said the causes of many cancers remained unknown, making early detection particularly important in the fight against the disease.
He said the stage at which a cancer was detected influenced the treatment options available and the possibility of a successful outcome.
“For the early cancers, because it is early and they have not spread yet, there is the possibility of cure,” he said.
The Cape Coast Metro Health Director, Samuel Kwabena Ofosu, said the increasing detection of childhood cancers required parents and caregivers to pay greater attention to unusual changes in their children.
He said about 76 cases of childhood cancer were recorded last year at the hospital, although the figure could not be taken as representing cases in the Cape Coast Metropolis alone because the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital received referrals from other districts and parts of the region.
Seek care early
Dr Ofosu said parents should seek medical attention when they notice unusual growths, unexplained spots on a child’s skin or other changes that do not appear normal.
Dr Ofosu also urged parents to take advantage of available cancer prevention and screening initiatives, including the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination for girls aged nine to 14.
He said the vaccination could help prevent cervical cancer and encouraged eligible families to visit health facilities to access it.
The Founder and Chair of Trustees of the Little Angels Trust, a children's charity, Dame Lavinia Enim, said the level of public ignorance about childhood cancer remained a major concern despite more than two decades of advocacy.
“We create the awareness and they bring the children, but it’s late and they die. So we have to keep going.
We have to start early. We have to keep telling them to look out for all these signs,” she said and called for stronger collaboration among stakeholders.
The Metropolitan Chief Executive of Cape Coast, George Justice Arthur, said the Cape Coast Metropolitan Assembly would support initiatives aimed at improving healthcare delivery and creating awareness of childhood cancer.
