Accra, Sept. 04, GNA – The persistent rise in cancer deaths globally has been attributed to late diagnosis of the disease leading to a huge number of preventable deaths annually.
Dr Theodocia Adom, the Acting Director of the Radiological and Medical Sciences Research Institute (RAMSRI) of the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC), said the global cancer burden was growing too rapidly, highlighting the increasing need for intensified public awareness and education and ensuring access to cancer services.
She said the WHO estimated that in 2022, there were 20 million new cancer cases and 9.7 million deaths worldwide, however the approximated number of people who were alive within five years following a cancer diagnosis was 53.5 million, indicating the importance of early presentation, diagnosis and treatment.
Dr Adom who gave the statistics in a presentation at the 2025 media launch of the GAEC Cancer Awareness and Free Screening Programme on Thursday, explaining that cancer, particularly that of the breast and prostate, posed a significant burden worldwide and nationally.
Giving a further scope of the problem, she said female breast cancer ranked the second most dominant (2.3 million cases) and 12 per cent of all global cancers diagnosed, with 670,000 deaths, while prostate cancer also placed the second most common in men, with 1.5 million cases and the fifth cause of death in males.
She said statistics showed that although breast cancer occurred in every country globally, there were striking inequalities in the burden according to the levels of Human Development Index (HDI), and in countries with higher index, one in eight women would develop the disease in their lifetime and the same for men in terms of prostate cancer.
Dr Adom said the female gender, unfortunately was the strongest risk factor breast cancer with approximately 99 per cent of cases occurring in females, compared to one per cent in men.
She noted that although cancer had a 90 per cent survival rate if detected early, it killed more people than HIV, malaria and tuberculosis combined, with 9.7 million deaths recorded annually.
In Ghana between 24,000 to 27,000 new cancer cases were diagnosed annually for a population of over 31 million, and 2,200 of the cases were prostate with 65 per cent of them resulting in deaths due to late presentation, while six women die every day from breast cancer, she said.
“This is the reality on the ground, and it has been projected that 10 years from now cancer cases will double if nothing is done about it,” she said.
The 2025 campaign on the theme: “Screen Today, Live Tomorrow,” was to highlight the importance of early diagnosis, treatment and support, and it was being coordinated by the GAEC Hospital, for healthcare service provision and RAMSRI, which was into research in cancer prevention, early detection and diagnosis and treatment, she said.
Dr Adom said their mission was to unite communities in the fight against cancer through awareness campaigns, screening diagnosis and treatment, to provide hope, love, improve the quality of life for cancer patients and also contribute to the Sustainable Development Goal (3.4), with target (3) looking at reducing non-communicable diseases including cancers by a third by 2030.
The awareness campaign was to promote cancer screening to avoid late-stage case presentation and enhance treatment for survival and also solicit for support for all patients, she said.
Dr Adom gave highlights of the 2024 event, which reached out to a large number of people within its catchment area and screened over one thousand people for breast cancer, describing it as a great success, with significant impact on the beneficiaries, saying the scheduled activities for 2025 were to sustain the positive impact made.
The 2025 cancer awareness and free screening programme was officially launched by Mr Kwamena Essilfie Quaison, the Director for Science, Technology and Innovation at the Ministry of Science Technology and Innovation, supported by the Professor Samuel Boakye Dampare, the Director-General, GAEC and other Directors of the Commission and partners.
The year’s activities for the October- November Breast and Prostate cancer awareness programmes would include Community and Media engagements; an awareness walk and free screening for all.
The target communities and groups included the Kwabenya, Dome and Taifa markets respectively, the Achimota lorry station, a visit to some senior secondary schools and religious bodies, corporate organisations like the National Petroleum Authority, and the Allied Health Professions Council.
Some of the partners supporting the campaign included the GAEC hospital, Medical and Health Essentials, Ghana Girls’ Guide, University of Ghana Medical Centre and the International Maritime hospital at Tema.
Professor Dampare, called for massive support for the activities, for improved education, diagnosis through screening and treatment of cases and ensure support for patients, and encouraged the public to take full advantage of the event.
GNA
Edited by Christabel Addo