Washington, July 28, GNA - This is the time Ghana should have a national government-centred cancer control programme, an expert said in Washington on Thursday.

In an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Washington DC, Dr A. Nsiah Asare, Chief Executive of the of the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH), said the whole world was scaling up efforts in cancer control activities and Ghana must not be left behind.

Dr Asare, who was sharing his impressions from the just-ended 2006 Cancer Congress in Washington DC, said the nation could together achieve a lot since cancer was treatable when detected early.

"The disease could be effectively controlled if all hands are put on deck because Ghana is far behind the world, and even some developing countries, as a far as cancer control is concerned," he said. Records on the disease in Ghana are scattered as experts try to build the database but some of the well known reported cases include lung, prostate, cervical, breast, stomach, liver, oesophageal (oesophagus) and leukaemia, which is common among children, according to hospital sources.

Dr Asare called for a National Cancer Control Unit to co-ordinate and control activities as well as a Cancer Registry to beef up data collection at the KATH and other hospitals.

"We also need a lot of networking of health professionals, groups interested in fighting cancer, patients and their family members as well as the media to promote campaign messages to push the agenda forward. =93We also need to set up a project to promote an education and campaign messages to ensure that patients get the best medical attention they need.=94

Dr Asare said he had opportunities at the Congress to discuss some of the issues with members of some cancer groups and specialists, who were willing to assist Ghana in training personnel including nurses. In another development, Madam Beatrice Antwi, the Oncology Nurse at KATH, noted that challenges back home were enormous because of the lack of Nurses in that area as most Nurses shied away from the speciality. =93They are scared of the constant contact with radiation. The only one who trained with me in South Africa in 1995 left the country for greener pastures four years ago.=94

Madam Antwi said Oncology was not even included in the curricula of nursing in Ghana and suggested that it should be included as early as possible.

She also called for Government's involvement in cancer control because cancer care was becoming very expensive and capital intensive. Madam Antwi also called for intensive campaign to create awareness on the disease and asked the media to help in that direction. KATH was represented by a team made up of the Chief Executive, the Oncologist, the Administrator and the Oncology Nurse.

The Congress attended by stakeholders from all over the world ended with a solemn ceremony at which delegates crossed over from the closing ceremony into the opening ceremony of the 13th World Conference on Tobacco OR (rpt) OR Health, which is under the theme: "Building Capacity for a Tobacco-Free World". 28 July 06