Cancer cases are reported to be on the surge in the Kumasi Metropolis, making it a huge health concern.
According to a consultant oncologist at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, Dr Baffour Awuah, 739 cancer cases were seen at the hospital in 2016, with 736 cases recorded in 2015.
He said there was a steady rise of reported cancer cases at the hospital since the establishment of a Cancer Registry at the facility, with majority of patients being women. Dr Awuah gave the figures at a media briefing and official announcement of the Kumasi City Cancer Project in Kumasi.
The Kumasi City Cancer Project is the brainchild of the Union for International Cancer Control, an international body of health experts fighting against cancer. Kumasi has become the first city in Africa and the fourth in the world to be made part of the initiative, and the expectation is that this will lead to increased access to quality cancer care and treatment. The other three cities are Asuncion in Paraguay, Cali in Colombia, and Yangon in Myanmar. The goal is to reduce the disease by 25 per cent within the next seven years through a multi-sectoral approach.
A consultant oncologist at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, Dr Baffour Awuah said cancer is one of the world's most pressing health concerns, killing in excess of eight million people every year, more than HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis combined. He noted that the disease has been costing the global economy an estimated $1.3 trillion annually, a figure projected to increase substantially if action was not taken to reduce the cases.
The Minister of Health, Dr Kwaku Agyemang Manu, explained that Kumasi will be supported to design and implement cancer care solutions and strengthen cancer control interventions, including prevention and screening.
The Ashanti Regional Minister, Simon Osei-Mensah, called for support from the media in educating the public to ensure the project succeeds. The Bantamahene, Baffour Owusu Amankwatia, described the project as timely, considering the cancer fatalities and great financial cost to families and the nation.
The Kumasi Metropolitan Chief Executive, Osei Assibey-Antwi, expressed optimism that the project will help to create more awareness about the disease to help people to report early to health facilities for treatment.
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