Rising cost of breast cancer treatment leading to more deaths – Survivors cry for help

Breast cancer survivors in the Eastern Region have expressed concerns over escalating costs of treatment, which they say is leading to more deaths as many patients are forced to discontinue care.

They point to the high costs of mammography, chemotherapy, and essential medications as discouraging barriers, particularly affecting single mothers, widows, and divorcees who make up a large number of survivors.

Speaking to Starr News, Patience Amakuor, a breast cancer survivor from Koforidua, diagnosed in 2016, called on the government to fully incorporate breast cancer treatment into the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) to save lives.

On behalf of over a hundred survivors, she urged the government to make essential drugs and breast prostheses more affordable or free of charge, noting that the high costs are preventing many patients from accessing the care they need resulting in high mortality.

“After the surgery, you need chemotherapy. The NHIS only covers infusion and bed costs. But for the medication, you have to pay GHS 750 per session, and I do seven cycles. Sometimes, they make us repeat the cycles,” she explained.

She further elaborated on the additional financial burdens, saying, “You have to do various lab tests every six weeks before chemotherapy, and when you go to Korle Bu, the services are so expensive we can’t afford them. We are pleading with the government to include chemotherapy and radiation in the NHIS. Even the breast tissue replacement costs GHS 1,500, and without it, many women are left without any resemblance of a breast.”

Dr. Foster Amponsah Manu, Head of the Surgical Department at the Koforidua Regional Hospital, was worried about the rising breast cancer cases and related deaths in the region.

He called on the government to equip all regional hospitals with the necessary tools to provide holistic and affordable breast cancer care.

“What we are not doing right is making available the services. Most of these services sometimes cost a lot, we don’t have mammograms in every centre to help in the screening. We don’t have chemotherapy or radiotherapy in every setting and people have to travel a long distance to be able to get this care. Once these services are easily available the country will move ahead, and if some of these services are made free, people step forward to get the care”.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 2.3 million women globally were diagnosed with breast cancer in 2022, with 670,000 deaths. In Ghana, about 4,000 women are diagnosed annually, but many die due to late detection and the inability to afford treatment.

Speaking to the media at a symposium organized by Eastern Regional Hospital in collaboration with Awuah-Darko Foundation on Wednesday, October 16, 2024, as part of activities to observe breast cancer awareness month, the Medical Director of the Eastern Regional Hospital Dr Akoto Ampaw stressed on the critical need for early detection of breast cancer.

He expressed concern that the hospital, a key referral facility, does not have the necessary functional equipment to provide comprehensive breast cancer services.

“The one which is even more important in the detection of Breast Cancer is the Mammogram and as we speak now the region does not have a functional mammogram and we are working hard to partner with some private people to set it up so in line with breast cancer mammography is number one for us”.

He also hinted of plans to establish a special chemotherapy center for breast cancer at the hospital.

“We are looking at possibly a specialized centre for chemotherapy because we do our chemos currently on the ward, we would want to have a special unit where the level of care will be higher because remember that these people that we subject to chemo their immune system gets lower than the average person and for that matter, we need to separate them from the general ward”

Dr. Akoto Ampaw said as part of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the management of the Hospital has reduced the cost of ultrasound scan services from GHS 100 to GHS 20 to encourage more women to access a diagnosis of their breasts for early detection.

The staff of the Regional hospital joined by Fire Service ladies earlier held a float on the streets of Koforidua to raise awareness.

It has embarked on an awareness and screening campaign at the Agartha Market for traders.