Breast cancer remains the leading cancer affecting women in Ghana, claiming approximately 2,000 lives annually, with late presentation at health facilities identified as a major obstacle to effective treatment.
The Deputy Minister for Health, Hon. Dr. Grace Ayensu has warned that many women report to hospitals only when the disease has advanced, reducing their chances of successful treatment and survival.
“What we are seeing in the clinic is that the women come to us too late, or what we call late presentation. By the time they come, it is a little too late for us to do something about it,” she said in an interview with parliamentnews360.com in Parliament on breast cancer awareness engagement.
She, however, stressed that breast cancer is no longer necessarily a death sentence, particularly when detected early.
“Nowadays, breast cancer is not a death sentence. If we do early screening and find it early, there are a lot of things we can do. There’s medicine, surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Sometimes one person has to undergo all three as part of the treatment, but a lot of women survive,” she explained.
She noted that October, observed globally as Breast Cancer Awareness Month, provides an opportunity to intensify public education and encourage women to seek early screening and medical attention.
Warning Signs Are Often Painless
The health expert urged women and men to pay attention to unusual changes in their breasts, warning that some of the most important symptoms of breast cancer may occur without pain.
The warning signs include:
- A lump or hard mass in the breast that was not previously there.
- Nipple discharge, including milky, clear or bloody discharge, when a woman is not pregnant or breastfeeding.
- Unusual rashes on the breast.
- Peau d’orange, a condition in which the breast skin develops an appearance resembling the surface of an orange.
She cautioned against the misconception that breast cancer symptoms must be accompanied by pain before medical attention is necessary.
“Note that everything I’ve talked about is not pain; it’s painless. The lump will not have pain, the rash will not have pain, and the nipple discharge will not have pain. Some people think it is only when they have pain that they should bring it to the doctor’s attention, but what we are talking about is completely painless,” she warned.
Women Urged to Conduct Monthly Breast Self-Examinations
As part of efforts to promote early detection, the Deputy Minister for Health encouraged women who menstruate to conduct breast self-examinations every month, preferably two to three days after their menstrual period.
“Our recommendation is that you pick a day after your last menstrual period. If you are still menstruating, if it’s two days after or three days after, pick the same day and every month after your menstruation do a self-breast examination,” she advised.
She explained that women who identify unusual changes during self-examination should promptly visit a health facility for further assessment.
The subsequent medical assessment may include a clinical breast examination, mammogram or ultrasound scan, and, where necessary, a biopsy to establish whether cancer is present.
Biopsy Does Not Spread Breast Cancer
Hon. Grace Ayensu also dismissed claims that undergoing a biopsy could cause cancer to spread, describing the assertion as a misconception that discourages some patients from seeking proper diagnosis.
“There’s a rumour that biopsy will spread cancer. No, biopsy never spreads cancer. Once the needle goes inside and is coming out, it is completely covered, so there’s no way biopsy will spread cancer,” she clarified.
She emphasised that biopsy is an essential diagnostic procedure that enables medical professionals to determine whether a suspicious breast lump or tissue contains cancer cells.
Treatment options, she added, include surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy, depending on the nature and stage of the disease.
Men Are Also at Risk of Breast Cancer
The health expert further cautioned that breast cancer is not exclusively a women’s disease, explaining that men can also develop the condition because they have a small amount of breast tissue behind their nipples.
“Men can also get breast cancer because a man still has a little bit, even though they don’t have full breasts. Behind the nipples, there is a small amount of breast tissue, and that very tiny amount can also develop cancer,” she said.
She urged men to pay attention to unusual changes around their breasts and seek medical attention when necessary.
The Deputy Minister also highlighted the wider burden of cancer, citing estimates that cancers account for approximately 43 per cent of deaths in the country among both men and women.
She concluded with a renewed appeal to the public not to delay seeking medical attention when they notice unusual breast changes.
“Breast cancer is not a death sentence, but bring it to us early,” she urged.
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