The Ghana Health Service (GHS) has announced plans of working to get a cancer register that will collect data for the different cancers in the country.

It said after that exercise or alongside it, it would start working on the kind of equipment that would be needed for the cases so that people could be treated here in Ghana for all kinds of cancers.

The acting Director-General of the service, Prof. Samuel Kaba Akoriyea, disclosed this at a press briefing to mark the 2025 World Cancer Day celebration in Accra last Tuesday. It was on the theme: “Unity in unique”.

Equipment

Throwing light on the equipment, Dr Akoriyea explained that people sometimes had been diagnosed with certain types of cancer but the equipment available in the country was such that, it would not be appropriate for those particular cancers, adding that, it was when that happened that doctors referred people abroad because they had better equipment.

“So, we're going to do the cancer register. After we finish with the register or alongside, we will start working on the kind of equipment we need so that we won't be treating people individually, sending them outside the country. But rather, making sure that we get the minimum required equipment so that people can be treated in Ghana,” he said.

He said when we had the equipment, the amount of money used to send one person abroad for treatment could be used to treat about 20 people in the country.

On how soon the register could be ready, Dr Akoriyea said it would be a long process because cancers involved a lot of different specialities, explaining that every part of the body such as the eyes, lips and stomach could be affected and each part had a specialist.

He said they would need to bring all those specialists together so that they would start recording the data, put them together and then start to segment.

“It's a process. It's not a day’s thing. Some of these things, you need to even have the funding to call all the stakeholders and they also should have time to agree,” he said.

World Cancer Day

February 4 every year is celebrated as World Cancer Day globally to highlight the shared vision to raise awareness of cancer and to encourage its prevention, early detection, treatment and reduce stigma.

The theme for this year emphasises the need to embrace the unique roles required to fight cancer.

This year, the GHS put the limelight on cancers in males, namely prostate and liver cancer, which although were among the leading causes of death in Ghana, were unfortunately not highlighted enough.

Dr Akoriyea advised all to live healthy lives and also report immediately to a health facility when they start feeling anything unusual.

“Please, come to the hospital. Don't go to any other place where they will give you another concoction which formula we don't even know. Should you get intoxicated, we don't have an antidote,” he advised.

He also encouraged Ghanaians to register for the National Health Insurance as the treatment for cancer worldwide was very expensive. With insurance some of the tests one is required to do will be covered.

“Treating cancer is very expensive. It's not just about the medication. It's about the steps you go through - the diagnosis, you have to do a CT scan, MRI and many other tests.

Then, after it's established, you have to go to the next stage which has to do with either surgical or conservative treatment,” he said.