BY KAJOGBOLA TAOHEED KEHINDE
A Ghanaian Paediatric Oncologist at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Dr. Nana Yaa Akyaa Bonney has revealed that childhood cancers are curable when detected early.
Speaking to Roselyn Felli on Prime Morning on Tuesday, she stated that cancers such as acute leukaemia and lymphoma are prevalent in children.
However, early detection and presentation can help cure the disease.
“One of the driving forces behind our actually making so much noise and creating a lot of awareness about childhood cancer is the fact that we want people to come forward early. When you present early, it means that we are able to cure the cancer. If you are not able to present early, then that is where the mortality results.”
“So childhood cancer is curable when detected early and when you present early. So the early presentation is very important. I mean, the two sort of go hand in hand,” she said.
According to the paediatrician, cancers affect children spontaneously as opposed to adults, who have the privilege of knowing beforehand the cause of the disease and how to stay away from it.
“In childhood cancer, unlike in adults where you will say that there is a direct correlation or a direct risk factor, it’s not so. In adults, we say that smoking increases one’s risk of developing lung cancer. But in children, cancer can just happen spontaneously. So, there is very little control that anybody can have over it,” she said.
She listed some symptoms children affected by cancer tend to display at the beginning stages and advised parents to be on the lookout.
Dr. Bonney further urged parents to rush their wards to the hospital, especially after early detection of the disease, to stop it from spreading as it can lead to death in the worst-case scenario.
