Africa-Press – Ghana. Accra, Feb. 25, GNA – The Accra Premier Lions Club has donated cash and other items to support children living with cancer at the Paediatric Oncology Unit of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital.
The gesture is to create awareness of the disease and to commemorate childhood cancer month set aside by the NGO as part of its activities for the year.
The items include surgical gloves, cooked food, water, drinks, toys and an amount of Ghȼ 3,000. Mr Charles Reindolf, the activity Chairperson for the Club, expressed concern over the surge in childhood cancer in the country.
He said though childhood cancer had severe implications, it could be treated when detected early and on well-meaning individuals to invest resources to help alleviate the plight of children living with cancer.
Madam Emmanuella Amoako, a medical practitioner at the Pediatric Oncology Unit of the Hospital, said a total of 1,300 children in the country got diagnosed with cancer each year.
She added that the cost of treatment ranged between Ghȼ5,000 and Ghȼ50,000, depending on the specific type of cancer that a patient had been affected with.
Madam Amoako said Government was working towards enrolling cancer patients unto the National Health Insurance Scheme to mitigate the cost of treatment and lauded the Club for the support for the children at the Unit.
According to the World Health Organisation, an estimated 400,000 children and adolescents of 0-19 years old develop cancer each year. The most common types of childhood cancers include leukemias, brain cancers, lymphomas and solid tumours, such as neuroblastoma and Wilms tumours.
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