Breast cancer screening and treatment should be regarded as the right of every Ghanaian woman, irrespective of her social or economic status, the First Lady, Lordina Dramani Mahama, has said.
She said no woman should be denied access to breast cancer care because she lived in a rural community, lacked financial resources or faced other social barriers. "Breast cancer screening and treatment are your rights as a Ghanaian woman, period," she said.
Mrs Mahama made the remarks in a speech read on her behalf by the Deputy Presidential Spokesperson, Shamima Muslim, at a stakeholders forum held as part of the Breast Society of Ghana's 7th Annual General and Scientific Meeting in Accra last Thursday. The two-day meeting was held under the theme "Bridging the Breast Cancer Care Gap for Everyone, Every Step, Everywhere."
Mrs Mahama said breast cancer care should cover a patient's entire journey, from prevention and awareness to screening, early detection, diagnosis, treatment, survivorship and psychosocial support. She said the free primary healthcare initiative now included breast cancer screening, while the Ghana Medical Trust Fund was helping to ease the financial burden on families following a diagnosis.
She cautioned, however, that announcing policies was different from implementing them, and that the impact of government interventions needed to be visible at clinics and community health centres. "The success of this initiative will, thus, be measured not in policies written, but in women who are treated and in lives that are saved in futures that are preserved," she said.
She called on health workers, policymakers, development partners and civil society organisations to ensure that commitments being made translated into accessible services for women, and urged the Breast Society of Ghana to continue advocating for patients and survivors and to use their experiences to help break the stigma associated with the disease.
The President of the Breast Society of Ghana, Prof Josephine Nsaful, said between 60 and 80 per cent of breast cancer cases in the country were still being diagnosed at an advanced stage, a situation that meant longer, more expensive treatment and less favourable outcomes. Citing a 2020 study of 217 patients across three cancer centres in Ghana, she said the average total cost of breast cancer treatment stood at GH¢34,631 per patient, made up of GH¢18,980 in direct medical costs, GH¢2,464 in non-medical costs and about GH¢13,000 in indirect costs, including income lost by patients and caregivers. She said this financial burden made it difficult for some patients, particularly those with low incomes, to keep up with their treatment schedules.
Prof Nsaful said breast cancer should not be treated purely as a health issue, given its wider impact on families, productivity and the national economy. She said 89 per cent of the economic losses linked to breast cancer occurred among women aged between 20 and 59, a group that forms a significant part of the country's productive workforce, and called for stronger referral pathways, better treatment coordination, multi-year health budgets and expanded geographical and financial access to comprehensive breast cancer care.
The Principal Programme Officer at the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, Sabia Kpekata, who represented the sector minister, Dr Agnes Naa Momo Lartey, said the ministry was working to integrate social protection interventions into the national response to breast cancer.
