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As the world observes Breast Cancer Awareness Month this month, women over 40 in the five northern regions may not be screened for breast cancer as there is no machine mammography in this part of the country.
In the circumstances, they may not be aware of their condition or undergo appropriate treatment, a situation that represents a serious danger to their well-being.
The lack of mammograms is not only affecting the treatment of women over 40 diagnosed with cancer, but also a challenge for healthcare workers, as it puts them in a dilemma in terms of how to screen women over 40. age.
The GNA concluded that the closest place to the north where a mammography machine is available is the Hospital de la Sagrada Familia in Techiman.
The mammography machine is used to screen women over the age of 40 and is the standard diagnostic test to confirm breast lumps.
The Tamale Teaching Hospital (TTH) had this machine, however, it broke down several years ago and patients requiring such services must travel to Techiman or abandon treatment.
The month of October is observed as Breast Cancer Awareness Month, which is an annual campaign to raise awareness of breast cancer to ensure, among other things, that all women have access to education, screening, treatment and disease support.
According to the American Cancer Society, there are more than 270,000 new cases of breast cancer and nearly 42,000 deaths from breast cancer each year, and breast cancer is the most common cancer and the second most fatal cancer in women.
As part of the month-long event, TTH has been testing women with breast cancer free of charge and counseling them on the disease.
Since the beginning of the month, the hospital (TTH) has examined about 1,000 women for the disease, with about 10 percent of them identified as positive cases, some of the cases in advanced stages.
Ms Evelyn Osei-Amoah, TTH Oncology Nurse Specialist, who spoke with the GNA in Tamale on Wednesday about the effects of the unavailability of the mammography machine at the facility and in the five northern regions, said: “ You will write the patient request and it may take a patient about three months to bring the results. “
Madame Osei-Amoah said: “The patient cannot be blamed because now she is going to look for the bus ticket to travel to Techiman and go to pay for the test as well. So there are some of them, we write for them and they don’t even do it, and that’s a big challenge. “
He added that “when it comes to doing a check-up on our women, when we arrive, we are a bit stuck and even in the breast clinic, when a woman arrives over that age complaining of pain, complaining of breast discomfort, which in everything you’re going to do Are you going to use a needle to poke trying to figure out where?
He expressed the urgent need for the machine to be provided at least at TTH, adding that “if we had the mammography machine, a patient could have done that test and it would have been helpful to us. So that’s a big challenge for us. “
She appealed to well-meaning organizations and individuals to support, purchasing the TTH machine to help provide quality care to cancer patients over 40.
Source: GNA
