Dr. Jean Marie Dangou, Advisor, Cancer and Chronic Diseases at the Organization’s Africa Regional Office, said there should not only be adequate funding and logistics support but the appropriate legislative framework to facilitate cancer registration at the national and regional levels.

He was opening of the fifth annual general meeting of the African Cancer Registry Network (ACRN) in Kumasi.

The meeting brought together representatives from about 30 African countries to review its activities and plan for the years ahead.

Dr. Dangou said although cancer prevention and control was part of the national non-communicable disease control strategy, interventions had been slow, compared to the other African countries.

He identified the lack of funding, inadequate staff and office space, and incompetent records, as some of the challenges facing cancer registries across the continent.

He indicated that cancers were becoming not only a huge health burden but also affected socio-economic gains.

There is, therefore, the need for African governments to take appropriate action to reduce cancer cases and the associated fatalities, he added.

He spoke of the readiness of the world body to provide the needed technical support, and said, the time to take action was now.

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Source: GNA

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He said they were the “living testimony” that patients could be saved – to lead normal life, given early report of the disease to the hospital for treatment.

Dr. Boamah was speaking at the second annual general meeting of breast cancer survivors in Koforidua.

It formed part of activities lined up for the breast cancer awareness week celebration with support from JEAD Foundation – a breast cancer support group.

The event provided the platform for the participants to share their individual experiences – some of them having lived for more than 10 years after they underwent surgery to remove the cancerous breast.

Dr. Boamah indicated that there was currently no known herbal cure for the disease and advised the people to ignore spurious claims of cure by some herbalists.

He expressed worry about the situation where patients stopped their medication and resorted to the use of herbs only to come back to the hospital, when things had worsened.

Dr. Foster Amponsah-Manu, Surgical Specialist at the Hospital, asked all to overcome the myths and misconceptions they had about the disease, adding that, it was not true that removal of the cancerous breast would hasten the death of the patient.

He counseled the cancer survivors to go for regular review to allow for close monitoring of their progress.

He asked financially-challenged patients, recommended to undergo surgery or chemotherapy treatment to be bold to tell their doctors about their difficulties since there could be assistance for such people.

Ms. Jean Ellen Awuah-Darku, Executive Director of JEAD Foundation, advised the breast cancer survivors to pay attention to their diet.

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Source: GNA

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