Guinea faces a silent scourge: cancer kills one woman per day

In the global cancer control program, the month of October is used to screen millions of women for breast cancer. In Guinea, several women have started to be tested at the Aminata Souaré center in Kaporo, in the commune of Ratoma.

Cancer arises from the transformation of normal cells into tumor cells, a multi-step process that generally begins with a precancerous lesion, which then becomes a malignant tumor.

Among the most common and dangerous types of cancer is breast cancer with over (2.26 million cases). In 2020, 129,400 new cases of breast cancer were observed in sub-Saharan Africa. It is the deadliest cancer in women in 19 African countries. According to statistics from the national cancer service at the Donka national hospital in Guinea, the figures are frightening, at least 2 cases are diagnosed and one case of death is reported every day.

Know your status

Faced with this alarmist situation, women are arming themselves with courage and coming to know their status in order to avoid bad news.“I came to get tested because I am used to doing it. Knowing your status before being surprised one day by bad information canbe fatal. So that's whythat I came here with my daughters to get tested. Fortunately I had very good news, everything is fine with me”explained Hadja Sidibé Sangaré, aged 55, who came with her daughters to be tested.

Dr Souaré Mamadou Bobo, head of monitoring and evaluation of the national cancer control program, provides details on the various activities planned for this month of October,“This involves, for example, the organization of free screening campaigns for breast and cervical cancer and the monitoring of medical treatment of diagnosed precancerous lesions.”

Breast cancer is the most dangerous cancer in women. Dr Souaré explained to us what this cancer is and what the signs of recognition are.“Cancer cells destroy the mammary gland and spread to the rest of the body, which can cause death. For the breast, there are lumps that can appear in the breast area. It may take on the appearance of orange skin, the breast becomes heavy, there may be pain in this area. There may also be abnormal discharge from the breast. All these aspects can alert the woman so that she can go and be consulted as quickly as possible,”he explained.

The craze of women

Since the start of this campaign, the results on the number of women already screened leave something to be desired. But in a campaign which extends until the end of October, there is still hope that the statistics will improve. “We have had to screen 65 patients, among the 65 we have had 2 cases of breast nodules so far. We have not met any patients with cancer, norprecancerous lesions of the cervix”,said the monitoring and evaluation manager of the national cancer control program.

The screening process is simple,“breast cancer screening consists of self-palpation or being screened by a specialist. It can also be done through a mammogram assessment which must be carried out at least every 2 years for women., underlined Dr Souaré.

Causing nearly 10 million deaths in 2020, or almost one in six deaths, cancer is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. About a third of cancer deaths are due to the 5 main behavioral and dietary risk factors: high body mass index, low fruit and vegetable consumption, lack of physical exercise, smoking and alcohol consumption, according to theWorld Health Organization.

Hawa Dine Diallo and Mansa Moussa Mara