Breast Cancer Awareness: Dr. Yarney calls for decentralization of cancer care to district levels

An Oncologist at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Dr. Joel Yarney, in an interview with GhanaWeb, has called for a more systematic approach in breast cancer awareness and screening.

According to Dr Yarney, the increase in breast cancer cases among women in Ghana is a clear indicator that authorities need to change their style of messaging to save the lives of

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“I have nothing against the celebration of Wolrd Cancer Day, it is good but I would prefer that we approached it in a more systematic fashion, in other words, it will be entrenched in our health care system so that you couldn’t have to wait for one year before you hear a message on breast cancer,” Dr. Yarney told GhanaWeb.

The entire month of October has been set aside to raise awareness and also increase support for breast cancer, which is the most common cancers among women in several parts of the women.

According to reports, most women in Ghana report to health facilities with advanced stages of the disease as a result of low awareness.

“Our biggest problem is the late presentation…I can tell you that for over 20 years there has not been any change in the stage at presentation. The proportion of patients coming in with stage 3 and 4 diseases has not changed in the past 20 years,” he revealed.

Adding, “If you continue to doing one thing and you get the same result, it should tell you that you’re doing something wrong.”

Dr. Yarney has, therefore, called for the decentralization of cancer care to the district level, this he believes will ensure that every woman is screened for early detection of breast cancer.