MoH develops five year national strategy for cancer control
The Ministry of Health has developed a national strategy for cancer control to be implemented over the next five years.
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The strategy will, among other things, help to prevent and control cancer cases in the country.
The First Lady, Mrs Lordina Mahama, made this known in a speech read on her behalf at the relaunch of Reach for Recovery Ghana (RRG), a support and counselling group for women with cancers.
October every year is observed over the world as Pink October or breast cancer awareness month and this year’s theme was, “Education: Ending breast cancer forever”.
Situation in Ghana
In Ghana, breast cancer is the second most common cancer among women.
A study in 2012 showed that an estimated 2,478 new cases of breast cancer would be diagnosed in Ghana yearly. Out of the number, the study estimated that 1,110 deaths would be recorded annually.
The First Lady said the burden of cancer in the country was projected to increase due to aging, rapid urbanisation and unhealthy lifestyles.
She said breast cancer formed 15 per cent of all cancers and 40 per cent of female cancers in the country.
He added that it was estimated that about 16,000 new cases of cancer occurred in the country every year, adding that majority of those cases were presented at their advanced stages.
The Head of Surgery and Surgical Department of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Professor Joe Nat Clegg-Lamptey, giving an overview on breast cancer in the country, said breast cancer was presenting more in young women between the ages 30 to 49.
According to him, 60 to 75 per cent of breast cancer patients were presenting late due to their reliance on alternative sources of treatment which most often did not work.
Need for education
Prof. Lamptey, who is a founder member of RRG, called for more education on the need for people to ensure that they reported promptly for treatment because when they presented their cases at the advanced stage, they became incurable.
An oncologist at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH), Dr Verna Vanderpuye, who gave an overview on cervical and ovarian cancer, also called for more education and awareness creation, saying the two cancers were gaining grounds among women in the country.
She said 70 per cent of all cervical cancer cases were presented at their advanced stages, saying it was the third cause of cancer deaths in women.
Ranked fifth in cancer deaths among women, she said ovarian cancer was more predominant in the Western world but cautioned that with current lifestyle changes and globalisation, there was the need to educate people on the disease.
The Founder and Executive Director of RRG, Mrs Gladys Boateng, said the organisation was widening its focus due to the increasing burden of the three cancers among women.
