File photo: Mortality rate from cancer is on the rise in Ghana
15,802 people were reported dead in Ghana from cancer in 2020, according to Global Cancer, Mortality and Prevalence (Globacan) 2020 report.
The report also estimated that 24,009 new cases of cancers occur annually in Ghana, by the known common cancers, which are breast, liver, cervix and prostate.
The President of Breast Care International (BCI), Dr. Mrs Beatrice Wiafe Addai, made the revelation during the celebration of World Cancer Day on Tuesday, February 2021, in Kumasi.
2021 World Cancer Day is led by the theme “I Am and I Will.”
World Cancer Day takes place every year on 4th February to raise awareness and improving education about the disease while calling for action from governments and individuals across the world.
It is spearheaded by the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC).
Dr. Beatrice Mrs Wiafe, who is the former Board Chair for the Ghana Cancer Board, said cancer figures have seen a surge since 2018, and this, she called for a “serious attention”.
Giving the figures, she said in 2020, liver cancer recorded 3,166 deaths, cervical cancer killed 1,699 and prostate cancer having 1,117 deaths in Ghana.
“Equal attention must also be given to cancers as given to COVID-19 because covid 19 did not come to stop cancers, neither did it come to trade places with the cancers. Therefore, awareness and education on cancers must be intensified,” the UICC member echoed.
She maintained that breast cancer is still the number one cause of death among Ghanaian women as far cancers are concerned, which preventable, treatable and curable, likewise liver and cervical cancers.
In her concluding address, she called on the government to provide free vaccination for cervical cancer to be prevented and called on the public to frequent health facilities for medical checkups.
COVID-19
She appealed to the public to adhere to the preventive measures of washing of the hands with soap under running water, the use of face masks, the use of alcohol-based hand sanitisers and if possible, to stay at home.
