WHO/IARC Delegate Visits BCI & Peace And Love Hospital In Ghana

A medical delegate from the largest health organisation in the world, the World Health Organization (WHO)/International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) based in Lyon, France visited Breast Care International (BCI) to interact with one of Ghana�s leading breast cancer expert, Dr. (Mrs.) Beatrice Wiafe Addai and the staff of the Peace and Love Hospital in Kumasi. Dr. Maimuna Mendy is the head of the Laboratory Services and Biobank Group of the WHO/IARC, a specialist in Laboratory, and Biological Resource Management of infectious diseases including hepatitis and liver cancer Research. She is also a council member and vice president of the African Organization for Research and Training in Cancer (AORTIC) for Europe. Dr. Mendy was warmly received by Dr. (Mrs.) Wiafe Addai and a selected staff of both BCI and Peace and Love Hospital who escorted the visiting guest to a mini durbar where the majority of the staff of BCI, Peace and Love Hospital, members of Peace and Love Survivors Association (PALSA), Media, and representation from the community. Speaking at the durbar, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Peace and Love Hospitals Dr. (Mrs.) Beatrice Wiafe Addai briefed the guest about the breast cancer situation in Ghana and the efforts the hospital and BCI are putting in place to address the burden of breast cancer. She mentioned the outreach programmes of BCI, which are used to educate women in rural and urban centers about breast cancer and also clinically screen them for any breast related diseases. She talked about the Peer-Nurse Navigation programme, the first of its kind in Africa, which uses breast cancer survivors and nurses trained in oncology to guide newly diagnosed patients to go through successful treatments. In addition, Dr. (Mrs.) Wiafe Addai said that breast cancer survivors play an important role by using their experience to give patients courage and hope to go through mastectomy and other forms of treatments. She said women have the right to survive from breast cancer and the location of women should not determine whether they would live or die of breast cancer. Dr. Maimuna Mendy in her presentation explained the importance of biobanks in Research, the goals of IARC, organization of samples, biobank governance, role of biomarker studies in cancer research. She also discussed the barriers and challenges of biobanking in developing countries. She described her visit as successful and she looked forward to greater collaboration with Breast Care International to advance cancer prevention and control in Ghana. She emphasized the need for the collaboration to establish a biobank at the Peace Love Hospital. She was impressed with the combined efforts of Peace and Love Hospitals and BCI in addressing the breast cancer situation in Ghana. �Breast Care International has the step in the right direction to biobank establishment� she lamented. She was also full of praises for the laboratory staff of Peace and Love Hospital, BCI Team and PALSA, whom she described as heroes for bracing all odds to serve as role models by joining in the efforts to address the challenges medical practitioners are facing in their efforts to control breast cancer. Dr. Mendy had a tour of the facilities at the Peace And Love Hospital, including the Peace and Love Hospital/ National Cancer Institute (NCI) research office, the Laboratory Department where she visited the Biochemistry, Microbiology, Histopathology, Blood Bank, and the Donor Clinic. She applauded Dr. Wiafe Addai for bringing the State of the Art Laboratory to the hospital.