By Stephen Asante
Accra, April 06, GNA-A study conducted last year at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Ghana’s premier health facility, has uncovered a high incidence of anxiety and depression among breast cancer patients.
According to Professor Benedict Calys-Tagoe, Head of Department of Community Health, University of Ghana Medical School: “In fact, based on the work that we did among breast cancer women attending the Hospital, we realised that psychosocial issues were a large but mostly ignored problem.”
The study identified that four out of every five breast cancer patients had varying degrees of anxiety and depression, as well as anxiety disorders, Prof Calys-Tagoe stated at an Inaugural Lecture, organised by the UG, in Accra.
“And if you combine both anxiety and depression, we are looking at over 40 per cent of all our breast cancer patients,” he added.
The medical scientist revealed that the psychological issues “derived largely from the tumor itself, the treatment, the cost implications, as well as the side effects that are associated with the treatment”.
Breast cancer ranked as the leading cause of cancer incidence and mortality among women in Ghana, with over 5, 000 new cases and approximately 2, 400 deaths annually, he said.
Speaking on the topic, “Taming the Crab: Insights into Cancer Care in Ghana”, Prof Calys-Tagoe said the most common cancers in Ghana were breast and cervical (for females), prostate and liver (for males), and retinoblastomas and lymphomas (for children).
Generally, cancer remains a significant public health concern in the country, recording approximately 27, 385 new cases and 17,944 deaths annually, according to health authorities.
Due to limited structured survivorship clinics and long-term follow-up, survivors usually face long term side effects and huge financial strains.
Currently, palliative care – which is a holistic approach that provides relief for symptoms, pain, and stress associated with serious illnesses – is not covered by the National Health Insurance Scheme.
“There is poor access to psychosocial support, physiotherapy and nutritional counseling.” Prof Calys-Tagoe noted, and cautioned that the incidence of cancer was rising in Ghana.
“That is the reality. It does not sound very pleasant but that is the reality,” he emphasised.
However, he pointed out that more than a third of common cancers as experienced in the country were preventable because they were largely infection-related or lifestyle-related, and “that gives us a window of hope in taming this crab”.
Early detection through a sustainable national screening programme was critical, he advised, and appealed to the Government to work with stakeholders to improve infrastructure, capacity building and policies to ensure effective cancer control.
Additionally, the nation should consider integrating palliative care into the primary healthcare system of the country as a third of all cancers required palliation, he advocated.
The medical scientist said that was an important aspect of cancer treatment, stressing that the fact that palliative care was not covered by the National Health Insurance Scheme posed a huge financial barrier to patients.
Prof Calys-Tagoe’s presentation generally looked at cancer control, the gaps, opportunity for improvement, and policy direction.
He said Ghana was currently experiencing the epidemiological transition, explaining that, as a result, the country “was gradually moving from a situation where we had lots of infectious diseases to a time when we have more of non-communicable diseases”.
“And what that means is that non-communicable diseases like cancers are becoming increasingly prominent. Therefore, the incidence and mortality from cancer are expected to increase in our parts of the world, and that makes it a public health concern.
“In fact, current projections suggest that by the year 2030, which is actually less than four years from now, there could be more cases of cancer than malaria,
Tuberculosis and HIV combined in the sub-Saharan Africa,” he hinted.
GNA
Edited by Samuel Osei-Frempong