Ghana ranked 10th in breast cancer cases in Africa – Dr. Beatrice Wiafe

The President of Breast Care International (BCI), Dr. Mrs. Beatrice Wiafe Addai has revealed that Ghana is ranked 10th in breast cancer cases in Africa.

Speaking with Nana Kwabena Addo on Radio 1 monitored by MyNewsGh.com, she said although death, through cancer has surpassed the deaths as a result of malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS combined; it has not received the needed attention.

According to her, most women in Ghana are yet to come to terms that the disease exists, it is preventable, curable and hence the need to reach out to them through outdoor programmes that offer free medical screening and education.

“The fact that Ghana is placed among the first ten in Africa and with youth now falling prey to the disease makes it bad news that calls for a concerted action to tackle breast cancer,” she said.

She identified some barriers mitigating the rapid cure of breast cancer as lack of awareness, high cost of treatment, lack of access to healthcare centers and lack of spousal support and counseling.

It has now been established that every 68 seconds, somewhere around the world, a woman dies from breast cancer.

Over 1,300,000 women died from breast cancer globally, and 2,062 women were diagnosed with the disease in Ghana, a country which ranks 10th in the burden of disease in Africa according to Globacan sources. However, breast cancer can be cured if there is an early diagnosis.