Cancer patients fear the worst as Ghana is left with only one cancer treatment machine

Some cancer patients in the country have been left stranded and hopeless following the breakdown of the only cancer treatment machine at Korle Bu Teaching Hospital.

A MyJoyOnline report indicates that scores of patients who went to the nation's premier health facility were left disappointed and unattended to as repair works continued on the machine.

The report quotes the frustrations and fears of a breast cancer patient referred from the University of Ghana Medical Centre (UGMC).

"I started this journey about two years ago, treating breast cancer at the University of Ghana Medical Center. I initially underwent surgery at UGMC, but after a recurrence, I was referred to Korle Bu Teaching Hospital for chemotherapy and radiation therapy," Sandra told JoyNews in a telephone interview.

"I was scheduled to start my treatment here at Korle Bu. But when I arrived, I was told that the machine had broken down. That was a month ago. I was rescheduled for last Thursday to start my radiation therapy. I managed to receive treatment on Thursday and Friday, and I was supposed to continue from Monday, every working day, for 16 days, but that has been a big challenge.

"Today marks one week, and I've only completed two sessions. As I speak, I am returning from Korle Bu; the machine has broken down again. I couldn’t receive my treatment. I’m not just speaking for myself; there are many women in the queue waiting."

The disturbing situation, which poses a huge threat to Ghana’s health system, was confirmed by Professor Joel Yarney, Head of the Oncology Department at Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, who divulged further details about the situation.

He disclosed that the country has only two such machines, with the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in Kumasi being the other health facility with the machine.

"We used to have just a handful of cases per day at our facility. These days, we are seeing an increase in the number of cancer cases in the country, and the resources to deal with it are simply not there. We are now dealing with up to 60 cases per day, so that sort of pressure on a single machine will cause it to break down," Prof. Yarney told JoyNews.

The cost of repairing and maintaining such machines is also very high, further complicating the issue.

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