A neatly dressed woman, Afua, with three others, is seated on a waiting chair.
Her face is buried in her palm as she hams to a song on the television set.
Her hands and feet look darker than the rest of her body; no, not from skin bleaching but a side effect from medical treatment.
Afua Pedenima, 31, has been battling breast cancer for eight years.
“Somewhere in 2015, I had seen a video of a woman with breast cancer appealing for help on television, so I told myself to check my breast regularly. On one of those checks, I noticed a boil on top of my right breast. I immediately reported to the Madina Pentecost Hospital,” she recounted.
The single mother said the pimple-sized boil kept expanding, and she felt uneasy.
“I was given some antibiotics, but the pain became unbearable. Later I started applying ointments, but I could not endure the pain anymore, so I reported back to the hospital; this time, the boil felt hard and darker.”
“After examination, the doctors removed it, and I was told it was cancerous,” she said.
The then 24-year-old said she lost consciousness after hearing the diagnosis.
“I collapsed when they told me the boil was cancerous. I couldn’t eat, sleep or think straight. All I could do was cry because I thought my world was shuttered.” She said.
Afua Pedenima was brought to Accra from the Northern Region at age eight to work as a nanny.
Her family lived in a village near Bolga, where they worked as farmers.
“I have 12 siblings, four from my mother’s side. I am the firstborn and the breadwinner,” she narrated.
The hairdresser apprentice said her meagre GH ₵400 allowance could not foot the bills for her cancer treatment talk less of remitting her family up North.
“So, I gave up and decided not to visit Korle Bu Teaching Hospital for further treatment. Also, the woman I had seen on television appealing for alms died after two weeks. So there was no point,” she said.
The self-motivated woman said she later decided to give it a try, and then her fight with breast cancer began.
After numerous scans, mammograms and chemotherapy, Afua was listed to undergo a mastectomy (surgery to remove a breast ) in 2017 at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital.
“My right breast was removed,” she recounted amid sobs.
The pains and frequent hospital visitation were finally over for Afua. She could live as a ‘normal’ young adult and plan her life. She has been cancer-free for three years.
“In 2019, I had my daughter. Even though I had told the doctors to save her life, even at the detriment of mine, they saved us both, and it has been my best decision ever,” she said.
Afua had her life back.
She established herself as a hairdresser in Ashaley Botwe, a suburb of Accra. She rented a single bedroom self-contain where she raised her child.
After three years of being cancer-free, the tumour has reemerged, this time stretched to her bones.
The 31-year-old has begun the fight against cancer all over again and spends GH₵ 1600 every three weeks on treatment.
“I am unable to work as much as I would want to because of the effect of the radiotherapy, and so I had to sell my hairdressing salon, an 8*8 feet container, and other valuables to foot the bills and vacated my room because of the rent,” she added.
Afua is squatting in an uncompleted building around Ashaley Botwe with her 4-year-old daughter and mother.
“I sold everything valuable to fight this disease, but it has resurfaced, and unfortunately, I don’t know how I am going to beat it again,” she said in tears.
According to doctors, the tri-weekly treatment at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital is subsidized by the government for the first three months. Therefore, Afua will likely pay more than GH ₵ 1600 after three months.
“It has not been easy. Sometimes, when I look at my old pictures, I cry. She added that I have lost weight and hair and started developing sores in my mouth and under my buttocks,” she added.
According to her, life has been unbearable.
Afua currently works as a home services hairdresser, she makes GH ₵ 30 on a good day, and that’s how she caters for herself, her daughter and her mother.
“I had seen Meena Breast Cancer Foundation on social media and decided to reach out for help. So, I’ll appeal to all benevolent individuals to support me. I don’t want to die,” she pleaded.
The foundation had earlier paid for her last session.
According to the 2020 GLOBOCAN report, Ghana is estimated to record 4,645 new breast cancer cases, more than double the estimated 2,062 new cases in 2012, with nearly 50% dying.
The high mortality rate is attributed to late-stage presentation, and most women affected with breast cancer are below 50 in Ghana.
However, there are no specialized breast cancer hospitals in the country.
“Governments across the world allocate money to HIV/AIDS every year, but AIDS is not as deadly as cancer,” the Executive Director of Meena Breast Cancer Foundation, Ibrahim Oppong Kwarteng, explained.
The Meena Breast Cancer Foundation was launched on October 6, 2022, in memory of Mrs Amina Oppong Kwarteng, who died of breast cancer on July 18, 2022.
Meena Breast Cancer Foundation is therefore championing the breast cancer fight via advocacy, education, construction of breast cancer centres and treatment payment for some patients.
Meena Breast Cancer Foundation relies on the benevolence of the public; hence interested persons can reach out to support.
