Breast Cancer: There aren't enough studies to justify effectiveness of herbal medicine for treatment - Dr Sunu

The increasing rate of breast cancer in Ghanaian women is attributed to the lack of education and the resort to unapproved medical options, CEO of the Ridge Medical Center (RMC), Dr David Sunu, has said.

He makes the point that there aren't enough studies to justify the effectiveness of herbal medicine for cancers. He further explained that the failure to report to hospitals or health facilities for breast cancer screening is a leading cause of breast cancer-related deaths in Ghana.

Dr Sunu explained that breast cancer is the most common cancer that affects women in Ghana.

In addition, he said, out of deaths that are caused by cancer, breast cancer is again the number one, so it is not only the most common, but it is also the one that kills women the most.

"Some studies reveal that about 50 to 80 per cent of those with breast cancer report to the hospital late, in the late stage, and this makes it difficult for medical intervention to prevent death. That is how it leads to such a high number of deaths occurring from the condition," he said when the Ridge Medical Centre launched its Pink October to create awareness of breast cancer, in Accra on Monday, October 5.

Breast Cancer Awareness Month has been celebrated in October since the eighties. It is called "Pink October" as people around the world adopt the pink colour and display a pink ribbon to raise awareness about the importance of prevention and routine screening for the early diagnosis of breast cancer.

Dr Sunu further stated that "if we can intervene in early diagnosis, then there is more that can be done to cure or prolong the life of the women who face the condition.

Dr Sunu also attributed the increasing rate of breast cancer in Ghanaian women to lack of education and the resort to unapproved medical options.

"There is a lack of education, preference to use herbal medication, there is the preference for religion, which causes delays, but what we are saying is that if you screen and then we pick up any anomalies, it allows us to do more, which would then protect more women from dying from breast cancer," he said.

Regarding the use of herbal medicines for breast cancer treatment, he said, "There aren't enough studies to justify the effectiveness of herbal medicine for cancers; indeed, what we have observed is that relying on herbal treatment leads to delays; there is a lot of. There is a lot of scientific data behind what treatment modalities are effective for different kinds of cancers; we do not have the same for herbal treatment for cancers, and so, as medical practitioners, our recommendation is that we should go with that which is tried and tested, that which is based on statistics.

"Relying on unknown methods of treatment without enough statistics is a recipe for disaster because it will delay the patient from coming to the hospital early; when you present late, the cancer would have spread to many organs and that will limit what medical science can do for you."

He further called on the Ministry of Health and the Ghana Health Service to ensure that there are robust programmes for screening.

"In our part, we don't have a robust programme for screening and early detection; that is, elsewhere there is a robust programme for screening and early detection. If you diagnose the condition early, you can take out that lump; you can take out the cancerous tissue before it begins to spread. When it spreads to other parts of the body, it becomes difficult, so the main difference is about having a system in place or a programme that allows for early detection so that you can treat, you can cure, and you can prolong life. But in our part of the world, the programmes are not that robust or effective to allow for early detection.

"To the Ministry of Health and the Ghana Health Service, for that matter, there is a need for increased awareness regarding breast cancer in particular. We are increasingly seeing a lot of corporate bodies, even GHS and MoH in October, driving awareness, which is good, but we need to do more, and we need to integrate such awareness into the day-to-day activities of health facilities. We also need to have structures and training programmes beyond October, which will then ensure that more people are getting screened. If we look at those who are above 40 years, for example, we must have a programme in place that makes it very easy for them to have their mammograms, which is the X-Ray that assesses to see whether there is suspicion of cancerous tissue in the breasts or not, especially in the rural areas. When that is done, I believe that it will increase the chance for us to catch the condition early.

"For the general public, there are a lot of health facilities where, if you walk in and say you want to get a clinical breast examination, it will be done. At least once a year, every woman should get her breasts examined. Men can be affected, but we know that 99% of the cases occur in women also; that is why we focus on women, so they should have their breasts examined at least once a year, and that will make a huge difference."

He also dismissed claims that when men suck breasts, it reduces the chances of breast cancer.

"What is known is that breastfeeding is known to reduce the likelihood of breast cancer; as to whether when men suck breasts as well, we don't have robust data to back that," he said.

For his part, Dr Kwame Owusu Achew, Resident Medical Officer for RMC, highlighted the risk factors.

He said "Some of the risk factors we talk about is early menarche, what that means is that you had your period very early, sometimes before the age of 12, any woman who has her period very early , we think about it in the fact that their breast undergoes changes because of the periods, ovulation they get bigger and tender so every time there are changes.

"If there is a change every month, the likelihood of a mistake happening in one of the months can occur, so if you start having it early, that means you have more chances of having the mistake that may lead to cancer.

"We also talk about women who have late menopause; if you get your menopause late for the same reason, the young girls who are interested in using emergency contraceptives, Postino, and those things also increase their chances. Those who live high-risk lifestyles, those who smoke, drink alcohol and even expose themselves to radiation can also get some of these diseases.

"If you have somebody in your family who has had these diseases before, or if you yourself have had breast issues before, they can lead to you having the diseases, but it is important for you to know that without any of these in your life, you can still get the diseases. That is why the most important thing to do is to get screened; that can help you to know whether you are on your way to getting the diseases or not."

For people who are scared of getting screened, he said, "We have seen people who are at the last stage of the disease, and almost all of them admit they wish they knew earlier; they know that if they had seen it earlier.

"Part of the management you go through when you are diagnosed is what is called psychotherapy, where we take you through some therapy to help you calm yourself so that you are not too worried about the disease."