Plan for management of cancers launched in Accra
A five-year strategic plan to help in the management and control of cancers in the country has been launched in Accra.
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The “National Strategy for Cancer Control in Ghana” document forms part of the government’s effort to attain the goal of reducing the incidence and impact of cancers in the country by 2017.
Under the strategy, various interventions and approaches would be rolled out to ensure the effective management, treatment and control of the various cancers, as well as sensitisation of the public and capacity-building programmes for health workers.
World Cancer Day
The launch coincided with this year’s World Cancer Day, observed every February 4, to create awareness on cancers and to advocate global action to control the epidemic.
This year’s celebration had the theme: “Cancer - Not beyond us”.
Launching the document, the Deputy Minister of Health, Dr Victor Asare Bampoe, said cancer was a silent disease that took the lives of innocent people at a fast pace.
He said more than 16,000 cases of cancers were recorded annually in the country, with majority of the victims dying due to the late reporting of the cases.
Dr Bampoe said the disease could be treated if detected early and stressed that the theme for the year indicated that “the fight against cancer could be won by us only when we do the right thing”.
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Objectives of strategic plan
Giving details of the strategic plan, Dr Bampoe said it outlined cost-effective approaches at various levels as part of the effort to control the disease. For instance, he said, according to the policy, clinical breast examination would be offered in all health facilities and mammograms made available at all regional hospitals for breast screening.
He said the policy was expected, among many other things, to document 50 per cent of all cancer cases and establish a cancer registry to form the basis for delivering cost-effective interventions and reducing mortality resulting from cancer by 30 per cent.
In view of the cost involved in the implementation of the policy, Dr Bampoe called on corporate bodies to support the government to implement it successfully.
For his part, Professor Joe N. Clegg Lamptey, a lecturer at the University of Ghana, said of the 2,260 cases of breast cancer recorded annually, almost half of the victims died.
Impose huge taxes on tobacco
In a related development, at a press briefing to mark the day, the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Cancer Society of Ghana, Prof. Edwin Kwame Wiredu, said at least one-third of the most common cancers could be prevented through the avoidance of smoking, reduction of alcohol intake, eating healthier diet and engaging in physical activities.
He also said an underresourced health system and lack of social protection were some of the challenges facing the country in its fight against cancer.
Prof. Wiredu, therefore, urged the government to invest in the prevention of cancer since it was cheaper than dealing with the consequences. He added that the government could also prevent cancers by imposing huge taxes on the importation of tobacco to stop people from smoking.
A Public Health Specialist at the Ghana Health Service, Dr Efua Commey, expressed concern about the rise in childhood cancer and advised parents to pay attention to their children.
On cervical cancer, she stated that more than 3,000 cases were recorded last year, about 50 per cent of whom died from the disease.