Stakeholders call for strong partnership to address childhood cancers

It can be a daunting task for mothers with children living with cancer to travel long distances to access specific health care needs for a comprehensive treatment.

This situation usually causes delays in treatment which often leads to the death of these children.

For some mothers living in hard-to-reach communities who have been transferred to the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, their proximity to access cancer treatment for their children at the initial stages of detection prolonged the process of treatment.

Yaa Kwakyewa, a mother at the Sunshine Mother’s Hostel for caregivers of children receiving cancer treatment in Korle-Bu mentioned that travelling from Oda, a town in the Eastern part of Ghana to access treatment in the Greater Accra Region, is affecting the treatment period.

 

She further tells me that her daughter who has been battling the disease for some time now has transformed to a much better state because of the consistency in the treatment.

“We have been able to secure a spot at the Mother’s Hostel so my daughter is receiving the comprehensive and required treatment she needs. I do not have to wake up at dawn twice every week, travel from Oda to Accra to come for treatment for my unwell daughter”.

More hostels are needed for other mothers who struggle both financially and physically to move from villages in other regions to access treatment in Accra, she further added.

Nursing her son who is also battling leukemia at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Veronica Debrah, said convenience for mothers taking care of their children is crucial for their survival.

“I am fortunate to live at Madina, here in Accra so to some extent I can easily come for treatments and review. But for mothers who have to travel from far places, this I certainly know would have a negative impact on their treatment. I know some mothers who have discontinued their treatment because of financial constraints”.

This is a difficult journey, Veronica said, while calling for more support from the Government and benevolent organizations.

1,300 children are expected to develop cancer annually in Ghana. Also, only 2 hospitals are able to provide full childhood cancer treatment and care.

Addressing the launch of the Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, President of the Cancer Society of Ghana, Prof. Lorna Awo Renner called for stronger partnerships to increase visibility and awareness of childhood cancer in Ghana.

She called for a health priority on Ghanaian children with cancer who are dying undiagnosed, unreported and unrecorded.

“Although we have been working to improve early diagnosis and treatment for children with cancer and their families, it is a shared responsibility for us to collaborate to develop a support system for these children and their families’.

Lady Joy Otabil, the First Lady of the ICGC Church, has been supporting the Childhood Cancer Society of Ghana with the support of the church for the past 15 years. She underscored the urgent need for all sectors to come on board to address issues of childhood cancers and also increase awareness about the disease.

Tagged; Joining hands to fight childhood cancer, this year’s Cancer Awareness Month launched by the Childhood Cancer Society of Ghana would focus on extensive engagements that will go as far as hard-to-reach communities in all regions across the Country.

The post Stakeholders call for strong partnership to address childhood cancers first appeared on 3News.

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