Participants at a day’s seminar on breast and cervical cancer have called for the establishment of a national screening policy to ensure the cost involved in screening women for breast and cervical cancers are reduced or removed entirely.
According to the participants, most of whom are women who work in the health sector, the cost involved in getting screened for these two cancers for early detection and treatment contributes to the delayed presentations of these cancers at health facilities.
Currently, it costs GH¢70 or more for a Paps Smear Cytological examination for cervical cancer, while GH¢20 or more will be required for a visual inspection with acetic acid for cervical cancer.
Also, GH¢5 or more is the charge for normal clinical screening of the breast, however, they argued that most women will not be able to afford the cost of screening, hence the call to make breast and cervical cancers free and accessible by all women.
The seminar, organised by the Ministry of Health, was in commemoration of the International Women’s Day themed: ‘Planet 50-50 By 2030, Step It Up For Gender Equality’.
It was to create awareness in the area of breast and cervical cancers for women in the health sector.
Doris Adjei, Principal Nursing Officer, Family Planning & Cenicare Unit, Ridge Regional Hospital, took participants through the causes, symptoms and treatment of breast and cervical cancer as well as preventive measures to avoid getting the disease.
She said it is important for women to have their breast examined either by themselves or a professional and have their cervices checked for any cancerous cells for early detection and treatment.
Mrs Adjei said once those cancers are detected early, treatment becomes easier and less expensive.
GLOBACAN statistics estimates that 16,600 cases of cancer occur annually in Ghana, yielding an age-standardised rate of 109.5 cases per 100,000 persons, including cervical and breast cancer.
Cervical cancer has been identified as the leading cause of cancer-related morbidity and death among females in Ghana, with over 7 million women aged 15 years and older who at risk of developing cervical cancer.
Minister of Health Alex Segbefia, speaking at the event, said every year about 3,000 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer out of which an estimated 1,500 women die from the disease.
“The estimated crude incidence rate for cervical cancer in Ghana is 26.4 per 100,000 per year,” he added.
Mr Segbefia, however, mentioned that government has developed a five-year national strategy for cancer control, adding that vaccination of girls between the ages of 9 to 14 years against human papilloma virus (HPV) has commenced, with 64,000 school girls vaccinated so far.
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