Teva Publication
While breast cancer deaths continue to fall in many countries worldwide, in others the situation is very different. We meet some of the inspiring people who are working to change this situation.
Breast cancer is still the world’s most prevalent cancer but survival rates have greatly improved since the 1980s in countries that have early detection programs and different ways of treating it [1]. Breast cancer deaths in the US, for example, have decreased by 43% from 1989 to 2020: current figures in 2023 show that 15% of women diagnosed with breast cancer in the US die every year [3].
But in other countries, the picture is very different. In Ghana, where over 4,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer annually, almost half of them will die [4]. Studies show that women in Ghana are diagnosed at more advanced stages of the disease - up to 70% of women have advanced stage cancer by the time it is identified [5]. This frequently comes down to a lack of awareness and education, as well as common myths and misconceptions.
Treating women with breast cancer in Ghana, as well as raising awareness about the condition, has been an important part of Dr Beatrice Wiafe Addai’s lifelong work. General surgeon, breast surgeon and consultant in breast cancer management, she is the founder and CEO of Ghana’s Peace and Love Hospitals and founder and president of Breast Care International and BCI America. “We have an unfortunate situation in Ghana where the majority of breast cancer patients present with advanced stage cancer. This makes the cure difficult, especially when it’s an advanced tumor. Our patients are also quite young when cancer strikes, and the tumors are more aggressive.”
Diagnosis is only the start of the journey of course. Once treatment begins, it is vital that patients get the medicines they need. “A course of chemotherapy can last for six or eight cycles,” says Dr Addai. “Sometimes when patients are receiving chemo, their white blood cell counts go down and we have to stop treatment. There is a drug to counteract this but it is very expensive in Ghana and most patients cannot afford it.”