Every year, Ghana records 28,000 new cancer cases and 18,000 deaths.
The statistics were shared at the end of the 45th Annual General Meeting of the Society of Private Medical and Dental Practitioners (SPMDP) by the National President, Dr Andre Kwasi-Kumah.
The numbers are dreadful, and we cannot afford to look away.
This is not a projection.
This is what is happening now, in our hospitals, in our homes, and in our communities.
Cancer is no longer a disease of the West.
It is here, it is growing, and it is killing many because we are not ready.
More cancer cases occur in developed countries than in Ghana, yet far fewer people die there.
Why? Because they have information, early screening, and prompt treatment.
In Ghana, the story is different. People do not know.
People cannot afford the cost of treatment.
People arrive late.
The government has put measures in place to make treatment cheaper for the individual.
That is commendable.
Unfortunately, many Ghanaians are simply unaware of the arrangement.
They only turn up at the hospital when it is too late for help.
This is the first gap we must close — the information gap.
Cancer is not a spiritual curse.
It is not contagious. Early reporting saves lives.
A breast lump found early, a cervical lesion detected early, a prostate symptom checked early can all be treated.
A lump hidden for two years out of fear becomes a death sentence.
Every radio station, every church, every mosque, every school, every market association must become a cancer education point.
But information alone is not enough if there is nowhere to go.
Effective cancer treatment needs machines — linear accelerators, brachytherapy units, mammography machines, CT and PET scanners, and immunohistochemistry labs.
These machines are expensive, but they are even more expensive to maintain.
The biggest barrier for private providers who handle over 40 per cent of Ghana's healthcare is import duties and taxes.
A cancer treatment machine that costs $500,000 can attract another 30 to 40 per cent in duties, VAT, and port charges.
By the time it is cleared in Tema, it is out of reach for many private hospitals.
In Rwanda and Kenya, similar waivers have allowed private hospitals to set up oncology centres outside the capital. Ghana can do the same.
Cancer treatment is financially catastrophic.
Chemotherapy, surgery, and radiotherapy can cost GH¢30,000 to GH¢150,000 — far beyond most families.
The National Health Insurance Scheme currently covers very little cancer care.
That must change. We need to integrate common cancers — breast, cervical, prostate, liver, childhood cancers — into NHIS in a realistic way.
Another issue is the lack of facilities.
Today, radiotherapy is available in only three places — Korle Bu, Komfo Anokye, and Sweden Ghana Medical Centre in Accra.
That is unacceptable for 34 million people.
Every region needs at least a diagnostic oncology centre and a chemotherapy unit.
The two new teaching hospitals in the north and the Volta Region should have full oncology departments.
At minimum, create regional oncology training hubs.
Ghana has fewer than 20 clinical oncologists.
We need 10 times that.
We need pathologists, oncology nurses, and palliative care specialists.
No one can win alone.
That is the truth.
Government, private practitioners, civil society, traditional leaders, media — all must be on board.
Cancer is not new; it requires new management strategies.
The old model of two public cancer centres serving the whole nation has failed.
It results in 18,000 deaths out of 28,000 cases — a mortality rate of 64 per cent.
For comparison, in the US, mortality is below 30 per cent because of early detection.
We can change our story.
We have the doctors.
We have the private sector willing to invest.
What we need is policy that enables, not frustrates.
Cancer steals 18,000 mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, breadwinners, and children.
We cannot afford another year of silence.
The time to upgrade our treatment technology, spread information, and treat cancer as the public health emergency it is, is now.
This is a huge public health concern that requires a coordinated intervention from all stakeholders to manage effectively.
The trend is indeed dreadful but reversible — if we act together.
