At least 2, 262 women died of breast cancer in the year 2020, the Acting Programme Manager, Non-Communicable Diseases (NCD) Control Programme, Ghana Health Service, Dr Efua Commeh, has revealed.
According to her, their deaths were as a result of refusal to conventional treatment and late visit to the hospital, adding that more than 4000 women in Ghana were diagnosed with disease in the same year.
Dr Commeh, who made the revelation at the 4th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the BSoG, explained that though over 4000 women were diagnosed, but there were more women to be screened.
“There are a lot more lumps that have not been picked up at the hospitals and some are also hiding behind alternative medicine,” she said.
She expressed worry about breast cancer patients who default treatment, adding that health workers, especially the women must take self-breast examination seriously.
According to her, though health workers actively engage in breast screening exercises, yet they themselves do not take advantage of the screening.
“We come into contact with many health workers who confirm to us that they do not examine their breasts or have their colleagues do the examination for them. This is bad considering the number of health workers we are seeing with late presentation of breast cancer. So we continue to tell them they are also humans therefore the need to examine themselves just like every other person,” she said.
She explained there was the need for health workers to be abreast with breast cancer screenings, adding that well-trained and well-informed nurses could teach through demonstration to patients.
“Female nurses have a unique opportunity to identify with women, empowering them to take charge of their personal health,” she said.
Dr Commeh said breast cancer was not a death sentence but “ as for Ghanaians once you diagnose them of cancer then it is death sentence, it becomes a death sentence when you do not report on time or decide to seek other treatment , such as resorting to herbal and prayer camps,”.
She said the ministry would continue to work with other partners to increase awareness in the communities, targeting traditional authorities, queen mothers and opinion leaders in order to channel the message to their subjects.
The president of the BSoG, Dr Hannah Ayittey Anie, said the mission of BSoG was to provide coordinated medical, allied health, and social interventions for improving standards and outcomes of breast care.
According to her, there was a rising incidence of non-communicable diseases, including breast cancer worldwide, in Africa and Ghana. “Breast cancer remains the most commonly diagnosed cancer and leading cause of mortality in Ghanaian women,” she said
Dr Ayittey said her outfit would continue to propagate the message of breast cancer, making it a household name, providing easy access to information to the layman, demystifying the myths surrounding breast cancer.
BY AGNES OPOKU SARPONG
