Gender
Galamsey threatening spike in breast cancer cases — Breast Society warns
THE Breast Society of Ghana has sounded the alarm on a looming surge in the incidence of breast cancer in Ghana as the menace of illegal mining (galamsey) continues to ravage many communities across the country.
It indicated that an average of 5,000 women were diagnosed with the disease every year out of which 2,500 died, but the situation could deteriorate if the galamsey onslaught did not cease immediately.
Prof. Martin Morna, an Associate Professor with the School of Medical Sciences (SMS) of the University of Cape Coast (UCC) and member of the Society, warned that mercury, lead, arsenic and other chemicals introduced into water bodies and the soil were carcinogenic and could increase the susceptibility of women to breast cancer.
The Society issued the warning when it held a grand durbar on breast cancer awareness in Cape Coast, sensitising mostly second cycle students to the fatal disease and mounting a strong advocacy against stigmatisation.
The durbar highlighted the devastating dangers of the breast disease and called for love and support for victims, instead of stigma and ostracisation.
The mammoth gathering was held under the Society’s Empowerment Project as part of its 13th Oguaa Breast Cancer Campaign on the theme: “Breast cancer: Stop the stigma and be supportive.”
Prof. Morna underscored the dangers of the disease noting that cancer cells could invade other organs and parts of the body including the bone, brain and liver and cause them to fail.
He said the disease could happen to anybody but factors such as age, gender, race, family history, smoking, null parity, contraception, and delaying first birth until 30 years increased the risk of getting it.
He said early signs of the disease included bloody or blackish discharge from the breast, adding that the early signs were usually not painful or bothersome.
“Anyone who goes beyond 40 years should quickly see the doctor if they find a lump in their breast,” he said.
“It is good to do screening regularly; do it once every two years if you are at average risk, and once every year if you are at high risk,” he added.
Prof. Akwasi Anyanful, Former Vice President of the Society and Associate Professor with UCC SMS, painted a global picture of the breast cancer disease, noting that 2.3 million cases were recorded in 2022 alone out of which 665,000 succumbed.
He observed with worry that the incidence of breast cancer was higher among Caucasians, but mortality was higher among blacks.
He also observed that breast cancer could also affect men, adding that men died faster when affected.
Mrs Georgina Kumah-Dzagah, a survivor of breast cancer, shared her experience with the disease and how she suffered stigma at the hands of friends and family.
She said she had gone through all the stages of the disease including lumpectomy, mastectomy, radiotherapy, hormonal therapy, and chemotherapy even though she detected the disease at the early stage.
“The deepest wound doesn’t come from the cancer but how people respond to it. I was 31 years when I was diagnosed, and my world changed in an instance.
“I didn’t just lose my breast, I lost friends. Social gatherings became more painful because people looked at my chest instead of my face,” she recounted.
She emphasised that breast cancer was real but not contagious, urging people to be more supportive to patients.
—GNA
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When Ama Serwaa stepped out of her room that night, she paused at the doorway and looked back. Her two-year-old son was asleep, his tiny chest rising and falling gently. She bent, kissed his forehead and whispered, “Mummy will be back soon.”
It was a promise she never kept.
Ama was 28, seven months pregnant, and hopeful. She had been feeling unwell all day, but as many women do, she tried to endure it. When the bleeding started, fear crept in.
By the time her husband and neighbours realised it was serious, night had fallen and transport was hard to find. The nearest health facility was far away. Every minute felt like an hour.
By the time Ama arrived at the Ada district hospital, she was barely conscious. Within minutes, she was gone. Her unborn baby died with her.
In one night, a child lost his mother, a husband lost his wife, and a family lost its future. Ama became another silent statistics- another woman who left home pregnant and never returned alive.
Maternal mortality remains a challenge as far as reproductive healthcare services in Ghana are concerned.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) defines it as the death of a woman while pregnant or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy, regardless of the duration of the pregnancy, from any cause related to or aggravated by the pregnancy or its management but not from accidental or incidental causes.
This continues to be a great concern with majority of all maternal deaths occurring in developing Africa with more than half in Sub- Saharan Africa.
The Ghana Health Service (GHS) says, the country has recorded a slight increase in the institutional maternal mortality rate for 2024.
Data presented by the Director for Family Health, Dr Kennedy Brightson, at the Fifth National Maternal, Child Health, and Nutrition Conference in Accra shows a rise from 109.22 per 100,000 live births in 2023 to 110 per 100,000 live births in 2024.
Owing to the still high levels of maternal mortality in developing countries, especially Africa, it is now increasingly being recognised that actions required to achieve improvements in maternal health should involve comprehensive, multi-faceted approach.
Across Ghana, stories like Ama’s unfold quietly. There are no sirens, no headlines, no public mourning. Just hurried burials, unanswered questions and children growing up with fading memories of a mother’s voice.
It is this painful reality that formed the backdrop to a high-level Maternal Mortality Roundtable attended by the Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Dr Agnes Naa Momo Lartey, as Ghana intensifies efforts to end preventable maternal deaths.
The roundtable, convened by the Office of the President through the SDGs Advisory Unit, in collaboration with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC), was held under the theme: “No woman should lose her life to give a life.”
But for families like Ama’s, these words must mean more than fine speeches and conference banners. They must mean real change that reaches the last woman in the last village.
Speaking with emotion and urgency, Dr Lartey reminded participants that maternal mortality is not just a medical failure, but a failure of care, equity and accountability.
“Saving women’s lives must go beyond rhetoric,” she stressed. “It must be seen, felt and materialised in our communities, our clinics and our homes.”
She called for strong community accountability mechanisms, warning that when maternal deaths are normalised or hidden, society becomes complicit in the loss. Every woman who dies in childbirth, she noted, leaves behind a trail of grief that does not end at the grave.
“History will not judge us by the speeches we deliver today,” the Minister said quietly, “but by the lives we save through the path we take.”
She urged all stakeholders, government agencies, development partners, traditional and religious leaders to move beyond promises to clear commitments, timelines and responsibility, insisting that maternal health cannot remain an annual discussion while women continue to die daily.
Yet Dr Lartey was equally clear that the fight against maternal deaths also begins with women themselves. She urged pregnant women to take antenatal and postnatal care seriously, noting that many complications are preventable or manageable if detected early.
Health experts present acknowledged a painful truth: some women delay or skip antenatal visits because of distance, cost, fear or cultural beliefs. But these visits can be the thin line between life and death the place where danger signs are noticed before it is too late.
Dr Lartey reminded the nation that maternal health is not the burden of one ministry alone, but a shared moral responsibility — from policy makers to health workers, from chiefs to pastors, from husbands to neighbours.
“When women survive, children are born, families thrive, communities prosper and nations grow,” she said. “Saving women’s lives is not charity. It is justice.”
Today, Ama’s son calls his grandmother “Mama.” Her husband still keeps her cloth folded neatly in a box.
Her absence is felt in small, crushing ways an empty seat, an unanswered call, a child asking questions no one can answer.
Ama’s death should not be just another story told and forgotten. It should be a reminder and a warning.
If Ghana’s commitments remain words on paper, more women will leave home pregnant and never return. But if action replaces rhetoric, if women are supported to seek care, and if communities refuse to stay silent, then fewer families will have to whisper goodbye at a graveside.
By Esinam Jemima Kuatsinu
Dr. Akua Gyima Asante, the Medical Superintendent of the LEKMA Hospital, has urged pregnant women to attend regular antenatal clinics, adhere strictly to medical advice, and report early to health facilities when they notice any unusual signs.
She advised nursing mothers to practise exclusive breastfeeding, maintain good hygiene, and attend postnatal clinics to ensure the health and wellbeing of both mother and child.
Dr. Asante gave the advice after the LEKMA Hospital recorded nine successful deliveries on New Year’s Day, marking a positive start to the year.
She said the first delivery was recorded at 12:30 a.m., with five male babies and four female babies delivered during the day.
Six of the deliveries were normal, while three were conducted through caesarean section, Dr. Asante said, adding that the mothers and babies were in stable condition and responding well to medical care.
She commended the dedication and professionalism of the hospital’s healthcare staff for their role in ensuring safe deliveries and quality maternal care.
She reaffirmed LEKMA Hospital’s commitment to providing quality maternal and child healthcare services to residents of the Ledzokuku Krowor municipality and called for continued support to help the facility sustain its services. –GNA
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