The Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) has expressed concern over the surge in cancer cases among its members.

Between January and May 2024, 2,500 teachers were diagnosed with the disease, with cases predominantly reported in the Greater Accra, Ashanti, Eastern, and Western Regions.

In a recent interview on The Pulse on Joy News, the Board Chair of the GNAT Cancer Foundation, Thomas Armstrong Asante, indicated that the prevalence rate of cancer cases among its members in the Greater Accra Region is high.

"Our number of teachers is over 265,000, and Greater Accra is the highest among all the regions having cancer cases. All the regions have cancer cases. My understanding is that in the cities, Greater Accra, Ashanti, and Eastern Region, most of the teachers go for screening to know their status, so we are able to tell the number that visits our center. As soon as they see their status, if they have it, they run to the Swedish Medical  Centre," he noted.

He said GNAT decided to establish a foundation in response to the growing prevalence among its members.

"Since 2014, we have seen cancer prevalence in our members. Looking at this, GNAT decided to establish a foundation that will solely manage cancer cases among our members. Such that we will see how best to deal with it, manage treatment cases, treatment costs, and preventive awareness campaigns too. We will do all these things to minimize, if not completely eliminate, cancer cases among our members,"  he added.

He stressed the need for early detection of the disease in improving health outcomes.

"Cancer is real, and it is treatable. Everybody must go to the health facility for screening to know their status," he noted.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), cancer is a large group of diseases that can start in almost any organ or tissue of the body when abnormal cells grow uncontrollably, go beyond their usual boundaries to invade adjoining parts of the body, and/or spread to other organs. 

The most common cancers in men are lung, prostate, colorectal, stomach, and liver cancer, while breast, colorectal, lung, cervical, and thyroid cancer are the most prevalent among women.

JKB/OGB

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