Breast cancer patients default treatment – Dr Wiafe Addai

Dr Beatrice Wiafe Addai, Specialist in Breast Pathology, said about 70 per cent of patients diagnosed with breast cancer default in treatment. She said about 22 per cent of the patients undergoing treatment refused chemotherapy for fear of losing their hair.

Dr Wiafe Addai said this when Dr Maimuna Mendy, Head of Laboratory Services and Bio-bank Group of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), called on her in Kumasi. IARC is a WHO Agency for Cancer Research based in Lyon, France. Dr Mendy is in Ghana to participate in the on-going Sixth African Nutritional Epidemiology Conference (ANEC VI) in Accra.

Dr Wiafe Addai, Chief Executive Officer of Peace and Love hospitals in Kumasi and Accra, said the problems of breast cancer patients were being solved with the Helping Others through Personal Experience (HOPE) project where patients are attached to breast cancer survivors to improve their quality of life.

On the chemotherapy treatment, she explained that few women lived with their natural hair in society, therefore, it was untenable to refuse treatment, adding “the important thing is to have your health and the hair back after treatment”.

Dr Wiafe Addai said training and research had been important aspects of the hospitals’ operations adding that collaboration with the IARC to establish an infrastructure on bio-bank would be ideal especially in research on the relationship between diet and the development of cancer.

She said activities of Breast Care International, an outreach programme of the hospitals, had improved the knowledge, attitudes and practice among the people on breast cancer.

Dr Mendy, also the Coordinator of Bio-banks Cohort Network (BCNet), said collaboration with IARC would result in their mutual benefit. She said the collaboration will be mainly on bio-bank infrastructure because there were not enough infrastructures to store and manage blood, urine, DNA, tissue, saliva, nails and hair in most hospitals in Africa.