International cancer workshop opens in Accra

An estimated 16,000 cases of cancer occur every year in Ghana, the Director General of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Dr Ebenezer Appiah-Denkyira has disclosed.

According to him, the common cancers in women are cervical and breast cancer and added that prostate, liver and colorectal cancers were the major ones, recorded in men.

Dr Appiah-Denkyira said this  in a speech read on his behalf at a three-day workshop on cancer held in Accra.

 He reiterated that early detection and diagnosis, prevention, treatment and palliative care were effective cancer control measures.

The workshop, which was attended by medical practitioners and stakeholders in the health sector, was held on the theme, “Cancers in Africa with emphasis on Ghana”.

It sought to raise awareness of cancer in Ghana, as well bring together researchers, clinicians, advocates and policy makers to brainstorm ways to improve the cancer situation in Ghana. 

Dr Appiah-Denkyira was concerned that although Ghana had two well-equipped cancer centres, most patients lived with the disease for a long time before reporting to a health facility.

Thirty per cent of cancer patients, he said, would have complete recovery if detected early and pointed out that most screening methods for cancer did not require specialist diagnostic technologies.

Healthy lifestyle

Highlighting the importance of healthy living, Dr Appiah-Denkyira indicated that 30 per cent of cancers were potentially preventable if individuals adopted healthy lifestyles by avoiding tobacco, limiting alcohol use, regular exercises and eating healthy diets such as fruits and vegetables.

He entreated the workshop participants to make recommendations on the establishment of a sustainable and effective prevention and early detection strategy of cancer.

“We at the policy level are looking for research findings that we can translate into policy to improve the lives of our people and are thus very happy to be part of this event,” he said.

Increase in cancer cases

 Dr Joe Hartford of the National Cancer Institute in the United States of America said Ghana projects an increase of 82 per cent  new cancer cases between 2012 and 2035, adding that “the increase is based on the growing and ageing population”.

Making a case for the funding of research, Dr Hartford called for the local provision of funds for research into cancer other than the reliance on foreign donors for financial assistance.

This, he said, would ensure that the knowledge gap in the research of cancer was filled.

Dr Hartford also said the requisite legal framework needed to be instituted to promote research into cancer and called for more education on cancer in Ghana to reduce the growing number of cancer patients.