MAMMOCARE(GHANA)
CENTRE FOR BREAST CANCER AWARENESS,SCREENING AND TREATMENT RESOURCE
*LATEST TECHNOLOGY FOR BREAST SCREENING AVAILABLE AT MAMMOCARE, GHANA
*MOBILE MAMMOGRAM COMING SOON
*EARLY STAGES OF BREAST CANCER IS USUALLY PAINLESS AND POTENTIALLY CURABLE.
*EARLY DETECTION SAVES LIVES!
*OUR BREAST SCREENING SERVICES IS BY APPOINTMENT ONLY
*FOR APPOINTMENT:
CALL:+233-0243030115
+233-0277524689
*EARLY DETECTION SAVES LIVES!
*OUR BREAST SCREENING SERVICES IS BY APPOINTMENT ONLY
*FOR APPOINTMENT:
CALL:+233-0243030115
+233-0277524689
CAPE COAST AND TAKORADI
CALL: +233-262734225
THE BREASTLIGHT / BREASTCHECKER
A NOVEL MODE OF DETECTING BREAST LESIONS AND BREAST CANCER IS AVAILABLE AT MAMMOCARE-GHANA.
THE BREASTLIGHT/BREASTCHECKER [Product Overview]
The breastlight works on the principle
that a breast cancer can be demonstrated in situ by the transmission of light
through living tissues and has been designed ORIGINALLY for use by women in the
home as an adjunct to breast self–examination. The problem to be overcome is to
design a device which provides a sufficiently high light intensity without
itself becoming too hot or heating the tissues. In addition the distribution of
light must be such that the smallest possible tumours are revealed. The light
guide has to be designed to achieve the optimum intensity distribution. Also
the light intensity level must be reproducible from examination to examination
and the high intensity light must be suppressed, or reduced to a low level,
except when the device is in contact with the skin / breast tissues. The ideal
solution is a hand held, battery powered device so as to avoid the risks
obvious with mains operation. The device has to be non diagnostic. In practice
this means that some non cancerous
lesions can also be detected. It has to provide
an indication for the user to seek advice from their GP{doctors}. A
diagnostic device would be unacceptable because the ultimate outcome needs to
be conveyed to the woman [ after diagnosis she becomes a patient ] in a medical setting. Blood
filled cysts, abscesses and bruising can all give rise to shadows not unlike
those that arise when cancers are present.
When
light generated by the breastlight is
incident on the inferior surface of the breast it is scattered within the
tissues and only a few percent of incident light emerges from the superior
aspect. The transmitted light is strongly absorbed by blood vessels and angiogenesis surrounding life threatening
cancers gives rise to a shadow seen on the superior breast
surface. Angiogenesis comprises a
chaotic mass of blood vessels which allow a cancer to grow rapidly by supplying
additional oxygen and nutrients. The angiogenesis is initially stimulated by tumour
angiogenesis factor (TAF ) released by the tumour when microscopic cancers move
into the exponentially growing phase.
It has
to be appreciated that the breastlight can only detect cancers which have associated
angiogenesis. Thus the breastlight does not
and will not compete with X-ray mammography which images tumours by virtue of
tissue density. It is almost inconceivable that a domestic device could be
devised which utilises X-rays. The optical and X-ray techniques complement each
other. Any cancer detected using the breastlight is likely to be life threatening since the friable vessels comprising the
angiogenesis are also a major pathway
for dissemination of cancer cells and the seeding of secondary tumours.
Because X-ray mammography has a
sensitivity of around 85% it is
reasonable to surmise that in the future the optical technique should be used
to supplement mammography and even by Surgeons prior to operation and also by
Oncologists during treatment. The sale of this device has hit one million
pounds sterling in Europe and Asia.
The breastlight comprises a variable light source sufficient
to penetrate the female breast and utilises no ionising radiation or
significant breast compression. It is a hand held device to be used in
conjunction with monthly self examination and is purposely designed to be
advisory but not diagnostic. It is safe and relatively easy to use. Skin
pigment does not appear to limit its use to Caucasian women.
The absorption bands of oxyhaemoglobin occur at a
wavelength of 550 nm and tissues become partially transparent to light at around 600 nm . To
visualise breast and tumour tissues we have compromised by using [ 3 x 3 Watt ] light emitting diodes LEDs whose output is
centred at 618 nm and this choice
demonstrates blood vessels in
breast tissues and cancers within the breast.
The technology which allows us to use only 3 LEDs has only been
available for 6 months. This has in turn meant the light guide could be reduced in area [ diameter ] which is
expected to permit visualization of very small tumours. The light guide also reduces the path length
of light traversing the tissues.
A more sophisticated Clinical breastlight [Figure 1.] is under development for use by Doctors and
Nurses in Primary Health care.
Figure
1.
Figure. 4.1.2.b. Breast 2675 jpg lt. An impalpable lesion in a 62 year old lady at 2 o'clock. |
Figure 4.1.2.c. Breast 3233 jpg Ghana 150708c mass is 1.5 cm size situated at 12 o'clock. in a 61 year old lady. |
A Study
to Evaluate the new handheld device, the BreastLight as a useful adjunct to breast
screening by Mammocare Ghana,
from
16th July 2007 to 22nd December 2009
Start date...16th July, 2007........ Date of
report....22nd December, 2009...
Description
|
Frequencies / percentage
|
Additional comments.
|
No.
of women screened for breast lesions
|
8,188
|
Screened
by Manual inspection and palpation of breasts plus breastlight.
|
No.
of women found to have a lump or other breast symptoms (breast lesions)
|
571 (6.97%)
|
Screened
by Manual inspection and palpation of breasts plus breastlight.
|
No.
of women with benign breast masses/lesions.
|
452 (5.52%)
|
Screened
by Manual inspection and palpation of breasts plus breastlight.
|
No.
of breast lesions followed up with mammography / Ultrasonography.
|
151 (26.44%)
|
High default rate by patients, 73.56%.
|
No.
of breast lesions followed up by Fine
Needle Aspiration Cytology
|
Approx. 25% of those with palpable lesions
|
High default rate by patients, follow up is ongoing
|
No.
of women with confirmed breast cancer
|
50 (0.61%)
|
Mammography,
ultrasonography, FNAC, breastlight applied.
|
No.
of benign breast lesions positive with Breastlight. TRUE POSITIVES
|
77 (74.76%)
|
Palpable
lesions, 1.5 cm – 6.0 cm in longest diameter.
|
No.
of benign breast lesions 'missed' by Breastlight. FALSE NEGATIVES
|
26 (25.24%)
|
Mammography,
ultrasonography, FNAC, breastlight applied.
|
No.
of malignant breast lesions missed by Breastlight. FALSE NEGATIVE
|
1 (2.00%)
|
Mammography,
ultrasonography, FNAC, breastlight applied.
|
No.
of women with non-palpable breast lesions revealed by breastlight
|
16 (0.2%)
|
Haemorrhagic lesions (non-palpable).
0.5 cm – 2.5 cm in longest
diameter.
|
No
of malignant breast lesions, positive with breastlight. TRUE POSITIVE
|
49 (98%)
|
Palpable
lesions, 1.5 cm – 8.0 cm in longest diameter.
|
No
of malignant breast lesions where woman herself saw abnormal image with
Breastlight.
|
49 (98%)
|
Using
the breastlight.
|
CALL AND BOOK FOR AN APPOINTMENT FOR BREAST SCREENING
Tel:0277-524687/0243030115
MOBILE MAMMOGRAM COMING SOON !!!
MAMMOCARE - GHANA.
OVERVIEW OF PROJECTS AND RESEARCH 1999 – 2008.
Important
landmarks:
·
A REVELATION OF NEW NATIONWIDE STATISTICAL
ESTIMATES FOR BREAST CANCER IN GHANA;
·
AN EVALUATION OF THE “BREASTCHECKER”, A NEW
HANDHELD DEVICE, AN ADJUNCT TO VISUAL INSPECTION OF BREASTS DURING BREAST
SCREENING AND BREAST SELF EXAMINATION. IDEAL FOR DEVELOPING AND DEPRESSED
ECONOMIES.
SECTION
ONE:
AN
ASSESSMENT OF THE LEVEL OF AWARENESS OF BREAST CANCER IN GHANA 1995
This project was designed to
scientifically evaluate and assess the level of awareness of breast cancer
among Ghanaian women (both literate and illiterate).
SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES
(a) To provide scientific
data on the nationwide level of awareness of breast cancer in Ghana.
(b) To identify and assess
gaps in knowledge about breast cancer within and between the illiterate and
literate women population.
(c) To provide educational
material on breast cancer to the public, to enhance the community awareness of
the disease and thereby encourage early detection.
SUBJECTS AND METHODS
Participants for the study were
selected at random from work places, churches, market places, hospitals,
women's organizations, family planning clinics, students' groups, etc.
All women between the ages of 18
and 70 years qualified to participate in the study. A total of 431 women
comprising literate and illiterate women volunteered to participate in the
study. The participants were interviewed by trained interviewers. Each participant
was taken through a previously tested Questionnaire.
The country was divided into 3
zones namely southern zone, middle zone and northern zone to establish a basis
for comparison, since most of the awareness programs, have been organized in
Accra and Kumasi which fall within the Southern and Middle Zones respectively.
The southern zone comprised of
Accra, Tema, Takoradi, Prampram and Dawhenya. A total of 198 participants were
interviewed; 158 literate women and 40 illiterate women.
The middle zone comprised of
Kumasi, Techiman, Kintampo, Juaben and Sunyani. A total of 133 participants
were interviewed; 80 literate women and the remaining 53 were illiterate.
Northern zone comprised of Tamale,
Tatale, Salaga and Yendi. A total of 100 participants were interviewed; 23
literate women and the remaining 77 were illiterate women. All data obtained
were assembled, organized and analyzed using a Microsoft Excel soft ware.
For effective awareness program,
education about symptoms and breast self-examination were presented to the
population. The package included:
(a) The definition of breast cancer,
(b) The anatomical structure
and function of the breast,
(c) Instructions on breast
self-examination (BSE),
(d) Early detection,
(e) Symptoms, diagnosis and
treatment/management,
(f) Types of breast cancer.
Every woman was encouraged to
examine her own breast every month, and made aware that every woman's breasts
are different and experience changes with age, menstruation, pregnancy, taking
of birth control pills.
An assessment of the amount of
information and knowledge each woman selected for this study had about breast
cancer was made by posing the following questions:
1. What
do you know about breast cancer?
2. List any changes which may
be found in the breast and may also be associated with breast cancer.
3. Which of the treatments for
breast cancer do you know about?
4. Do you examine your breasts,
i.e. do you perform BSE?
The various responses to questions
1 and 2 were categorized or rated as "GOOD", "AVERAGE" or
"POOR".
For question 1 a response was rated
as "GOOD" if any of the following was given as an answer to the
question:
(i) Breast cancer is a
malignant disease which spreads to other organs and kills if not diagnosed and
treated early.
(ii) Breast cancer usually
starts as an unusual lump in the breast and can be treated successfully when
discovered early.
(iii) Breast cancer occurs
when cells in the breast become abnormal and divide out of control or order.
Responses equivalent in meaning to
anyone of those listed above were rated as “GOOD".
A response was rated
"AVERAGE" if any of the following was given as an answer:
(i) Breast cancer is a
deadly disease of the breast and leads to amputation of the affected breast.
(ii) Breast cancer is a breast lump.
(iii) Breast cancer is a
disease that affects the female breast.
Other responses equivalent in
meaning to any of those listed above were rated as "AVERAGE".
Responses rated as “POOR” to
question numbered 1 include:
(i) Breast cancer is caused by
a boil in the breast.
(ii) Breast cancer is caused
by excessive suckling or massaging of the breast by adult males.
(ii) Breast cancer occurs
when one keeps money or coins in her brassier.
The principal signs and symptoms of
breast cancer are:
v
A lump or thickening in or near the breast or in
the underarm area; A change in the size or shape of the breast;
v
A discharge from the nipple; or
v
A change in the color or feel of the skin of the
breast, areola, or nipple (dimpled, puckered, or scaly).
For question 2 a response that
included any 2 or more of the symptoms listed were rated 'GOOD', 1 symptom was
rated 'AVERAGE' whereas ones inability to list any symptoms was rated 'POOR’.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
·
The average age at first menstrual period for
Ghanaian women was 14.91 years and the mode was 15 years. It was estimated that
88.19% of the females had their menarche at age 16 or below. Early menarche is
known to increase risk for breast cancer (7).
Pike reported that Polish girls who started menstruating before the age of 16
carried a 1.8 times increase in risk for breast cancer compared with those
whose menarche was later than 16 (8).
·
The average age at menopause calculated from our
data was 47.77 years, 44.29% of the post-menopausal women had their menopause
at the ages 47.77 years or below, whereas 2.86% of them had their menopause 55
years or above. Late menopause is known to increase risk for breast cancer (7). Trichopoulous et al reported a doubling of risk for women who continued
menstruating beyond the age of 55 compared with those whose natural menopause
was before 45 years. This is attributed to the fact that breast tissues exposed
to hormones for a longer period have an increased risk for breast cancer (9, 10,11).
·
In this survey we observed that 93.02% of Ghanaian
women have breast-fed their children, while 6.98% did not . 2.78% breast-fed
their children for three to six months, 15.97% breast-fed for seven months to
one year and 81.25% breast-fed for more than one year (13-36 months). There is
some evidence that breast-feeding protects women from breast cancer, this
benefit is seen in post-menopausal women who breast-fed any of their babies for
a year or more during their pre-menopausal ages (11). The present study indicates a large majority of Ghanaian
women population unknowingly enjoy the protection breast -feeding offers from
breast cancer.
·
For the
study population 21.84% of all the literate women gave responses to question
1 that were rated "GOOD" ; 33.33% gave responses rated
"AVERAGE" whereas 44.83% of the responses were rated 'POOR" .
55.17% of literate Ghanaian women could be said to have some information
about breast cancer whiles 44.83% do not .
·
For illiterate Ghanaian women less than 1 % of the
study population gave responses to question
1 rated as "GOOD", 4.12% gave responses rated "AVERAGE"
whereas 95:88% of the responses rated ”POOR". This implies that only 4.12%
of illiterate Ghanaian women had some information about breast cancer whiles
95.88% did not .
·
Responses from
literate women to question
2. 10.34% of literate
women provided responses which were rated "GOOD", 26.44% of the
responses were rated "AVERAGE" while 63.22% were rated
"POOR". It can be inferred that 36.78% (10.34+26.44%) of literate
women had some knowledge about symptoms of breast cancer while 63.22% had none
.
·
Responses from
illiterate Ghanaian women to
question 2, revealed the following. Responses rated "GOOD"
were provided by 0.59% of illiterate women, 5.88% provided responses rated
"AVERAGE" whiles 93.55% provided responses rated “POOR". It can
be inferred that 6.47% (0.59+5.88%) of illiterate women had some knowledge about
the symptoms of breast cancer while 93.55% do not.
Breast cancer is treatable and
indeed curable. Treatment options open to
the patient and his doctor depends on the stage of the disease on
presentation. Methods of treatment for
breast cancer are local or systemic.
Surgery and radiation therapy are local treatments whiles chemotherapy and
hormonal therapy are systemic treatments.
·
Among literate women surgery was the most widely
known -57.62% followed by chemotherapy -13.41%, hormonal therapy and herbal
treatments were known to 5.79%
and 5.18% of the literate women respectively. 18.00% of these women had no idea
of any of the treatment options.
·
With respect to
methods of treatment for
breast cancer, among illiterate Ghanaian women surgery was the most
widely known -25.29% followed by herbal treatment -10%, chemotherapy - 4.12%
and finally hormone therapy-1.18% of this study population. The remaining
59.41% of this study population had no idea of any of these treatment options.
It is evident that literate women are better informed about conventional
treatments than their illiterate counterparts, while the illiterate women are more likely to know about alternative
treatment i.e. herbal treatment. This is attributable to the fact that a large proportion of illiterate women
reside in rural areas where health facilities are thinly distributed. Most of
them resort to traditional
herbal healing remedies for all their medical needs.
·
36.78% of the literate women were aware of at least
one symptom of breast cancer and 63.22%
were not. 69.74% of them examined their breasts whiles 30.26% of them did not.
Chi-square(X2) analysis of responses to question 1 indicated that
the geographical zone in which a literate Ghanaian woman resides has
significant influence on the amount of information she has about breast cancer
– Ho. X2 = 9.026, the critical value (X2c) =
9.448: df = 4: p < 0.05 when a two-sided X2 test was performed.
·
6.48% of the illiterate women were aware of at
least one symptom of breast cancer. 93.53% were not. 20.58% of them examined
their breasts whiles 79.42% of them did not. Chi-square analysis of responses
to question 1 indicated that the geographical zone in which an illiterate
Ghanaian woman resides has significant influence on the amount of information
she has about breast cancer - HA. X2 =1.509, the critical
value X2C = 3.841: df= 1: p < 0.05 when a two-sided X2
test was performed. This indicates that there is no significant difference in
the amount of information about breast cancer between illiterate women from
different geographical zones .
·
Chi-Square (X2) analysis of responses to
question 2 indicated that; the geographical zone in which a literate Ghanaian
woman resides significantly influences her knowledge about symptoms of breast
cancer - HA. X2 = 8.507: df = 2, P < 0.05; X2c
= 5.991.
·
X2 analysis of responses to question 2
indicated that the geographical zone in which an illiterate Ghanaian woman
resides significantly influenced her knowledge about symptoms of breast cancer
-HA. X2 = 8.163, df = l, P < 0.05, X2c =
3.841.
·
Responses to question 1 were analyzed under these
two groups of women, namely illiterate and literate and the Chi-square analysis
indicated that, the amount of information a Ghanaian woman has about breast
cancer is significantly influenced by her literacy status - HA. The
X2 test yielded a value of 117.904; df = 1; P < 0.05; X2c
= 6.635 when a two-sided X2 test was performed.
·
Knowledge about symptoms of breast cancer among
Ghanaian women is significantly influenced by their literacy status. X2
= 51.395; df = 2; P < 0.05, X2c = 5.991 when a two-sided X2
is performed. Thus, revealing a statistically significant difference in
knowledge about symptoms of breast cancer between literate and illiterate
Ghanaian women.
·
24.83% of all participants in this study were aware
of at least one symptom of breast cancer whereas 75.17% of them were not aware
of any symptom of breast cancer. Among literate women there are significant
differences in awareness of symptoms as one moves from one geographical zone to
the other. Those in the southern zone were in the lead, followed by the middle
zone and finally the northern zone.
CONCLUSION
Performing BSE presupposes that the
performer is aware of changes in the breast she wants to pick up if there are
any - and report to her doctor. In our survey we observed that; 24.83% of all
the participants selected were aware of at least one symptom of breast cancer
whereas 75.17% of them are not. 50.3 5% of the women examine their breasts and
49.65% do not. It can be deduced that 25.52% (i.e. 50.35% - 24.83%) of the
women who examine their breasts do not know what change to look for although
they do BSE (assumption; all women aware of at least one symptom of breast
cancer do BSE). 49.65% of the women do not examine their breasts and 25.52% of
the women who do BSE do not know about any symptoms of breast cancer. Similarly
by deduction 75.17% (49.65% + 25.52%) are not aware of any symptom for breast
cancer; this figure equals what was actually observed through data collection.
This proves our assumption that all
women who are aware of at least one symptom of breast cancer do BSE. In reality
women who are aware of at least one symptom of breast cancer are more likely to
examine their breasts. Those who are not aware of any symptoms will normally
not perform BSE.
For BSE women from the southern
zone are more likely to examine their breasts, followed by those from the
middle zone and finally the northern zone. This trend is observed among
literate and illiterate women.
Among the literate women those from
the southern zone were the most informed followed by those from the middle zone
and finally those from the northern zone. The same trend was observed for the
illiterate women. One can deduce with some degree of confidence that this
pattern observed so far is a reflection of the fact that most awareness
programs and functions for breast cancer have been implemented in Accra which
falls within the southern zone of our set boundaries for this survey. In
addition these programs have not made the expected impact on the target group
yet.
Although the overall awareness in
the entire women population is not impressive and rather low the illiterate
women populations are clearly far below, compared with their literate
counterparts who are in turn, below, expectation.
*
Awareness for breast cancer in Ghana is still very
low among the target population. There are significant knowledge gaps between
literate and illiterate women groups as well as within literate women groups
and the illiterate women groups studied.
*
For both literate and illiterate women, those
within the southern zone were ahead in terms of knowledge about breast cancer,
followed by middle zone and finally the northern zone. The knowledge gap
between literate and illiterate women is extremely wide.
RECOMMENDATIONS
*
A special awareness package should be developed
with Ghanaian women in mind.
*
A breast disease awareness service/center should be
set up to organize and coordinate awareness programmes in a more organized and
consistent manner.
*
A national body/association for breast cancer
patients and their relatives be organized.
*
A breast cancer awareness week should be celebrated
every year probably in August to coincide with world breast feeding day i.e.
1st August.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
It is a pleasure
to acknowledge our indebtedness to The Health Foundation of New York for
sponsoring this project. The good work of our data collection personnel
contributes greatly to the value of the information provided in this report.
Finally, we are
indebted to V. Rev. Fr. Theodore Quaye of the Martyrs of Uganda Parish of the
Catholic Church, Mamprobi, Accra for assisting with logistics required for data
collection in the Northern sector of the country.
REFERENCES
- Archeampong EQ. Breast Cancer in Ghana, National Cancer Foundation. Dec. 1990.
- Oxford Textbook of Pathology. Vol2a, Oxford University Press, New York.1992: 1643-81.
- Quartey-Papafio JB. Breast Cancer in Accra, Ghana Medical J. 1977: 16; 189-191.
- Quartey-Papfio JB and Anim IT. Cancer of the Breast in Accra, Ghana Medical J. Sept. 1980: 159-161.
- Wiredu WK. Personal Communication, Department of Pathology, Ghana Medical School. Oct. 1995.
- Darko R. Personal Communication, Department of Surgery, Ghana Medical School. Oct. 1995.
- MacMahon B, Cole P, Brown J. Etiology of human breast cancer: A review. J Natl Cancer Inst. 1973: 51; 1479.
- Pike MC, Krailo MD, Henderson RE et al.Hormonal risk factors, breast tissue age and age at incidence of breast cancer. Nature.1983: 303; 767-70.
- Trichopoulos D, MacMahon B, Cole P. The menopause and breast cancer, J Natl Cancer Inst.1972: 48; 605-13.
- MacMahon B, Feinleib M. Breast cancer in relation to nursing and menopausal history. J Natl Cancer Inst.1960: 24; 733-53.
- Feinleib M. Breast cancer and artificial menopause: a cohort study. J Natl Cancer Inst. 1968: 41; 315-29.
- McTiernan A. Thomas DB. Evidence for a protective effect of lactation on risk of Breast cancer in young women. Am J Epidemiol. 1986:124; 353-8.
SECTION
TWO:
A
NATIONWIDE AWARENESS AND SCREENING FOR BREAST CANCER 1999 – 2008
This follow up project was designed
to study the basic epidemiology of breast lesions in Ghana. Over 47,000 women
from all 10 regions of Ghana were screened for breast lesions and educated on
breast awareness.
AIMS AND OBJECTIVES:
• TO STUDY THE DESCRIPTIVE EPIDEMIOLOGY AND PATHO –
BIOCHEMICAL NATURE OF BREAST CANCER RELEVANT TO ITS TREATMENT IN GHANA
• TO HELP IMPROVE BREAST CANCER AWARENESS AND EARLY
DETECTION IN GHANA.
• TO ESTIMATE THE PREVALENCE OF BREAST CANCER IN GHANA
CONCLUSIONS
•
54.84%
of breast cancer patients in Ghana are pre / peri – menopausal
•
45.16% are of post-menopausal status (F.N.
GHARTEY et al, 2008.).
•
Ghanaian women (black
Africans) develop breast cancer some 10 to 15 years earlier than Caucasians
(Whites).
•
Average Age at detection
of breast cancer in Ghana = 42.59 years ,
•
In Ghana, the most affected Age group for breast cancer is 35
years to 45 years
•
Most affected Age for
breast cancer = 35 years.
•
Prevalence rate for
breast cancer in Ghana ranges from 0.41% – 1.11% (95 %confidence interval)
among females aged 15 to 80 years in Ghana (black Africans);
•
Prevalence of benign
breast lumps ranges from 0.69% – 6.89% (95 %confidence interval).
•
The average age of breast
cancer patients detected through screening in Ghana is 42.59 years; compared to
the average age for breast cancer patients reporting for surgical treatment at
a major referral centre in Accra being 51.2 years. This is evidence for
late/delayed presentation for treatment.
AN EVALUATION OF
A NEW HANDHELD DEVICE; THE BREASTLIGHT:
INVENTED BY DR D. J. WATMOUGH, CEO,
HIGHLAND INNOVATION CENTRE, INVERNESS, SCOTLAND.
Breaschecker is
a handheld device that transilluminates the breast with a red light (617nm)
that is absorbed by haemoglobin so that areas of high vascularity (such as
malignant tumours) should appear black.
BLOODY NIPPLE
DISCHARGE REVEALED BY BREAST CHECKER; AFFECTED DUCTS REVEALED
HISTOLOGICALLY
CONFIRMED MALIGNANT BREAST MASS REVEALED WITH
BREASTCHECKER
HISTOLOGICALLY
CONFIRMED DIFFUSE MALIGNANT BREAST LESION, DETECTED WITH BREASTCHECKER
AN EVALUATION OF
THE NEW BREASTCHECKER FROM JULY 2007 TO DECEMBER 2008
No. of well women examined by clinical
examination.
|
5,048
|
Additional comments.
|
No found
to have a lump or other symptoms
|
424
|
|
No followed up by mammography
|
42
|
High default rate by patients
|
No followed up by FNAC
|
29
|
High default rate by patients
|
No with confirmed breast cancer
|
42
|
|
No with benign breast disease.
|
362
|
|
No of benign breast lesions 'missed' by
Breastlight.
|
17
|
17/60
X 100 = 28.33%
|
No of benign breast lesions positive with
Breastlight
|
43
|
43/60
X 100 = 71.66%
|
No of malignant breast lesions missed by
Breastlight.
|
1
|
1/42
X 100 = 2.38 %
|
No of malignant breast lesions, positive
with breastlight.
|
41
|
41/42
X 100 = 97.62%
|
No of malignant breast lesions where woman
herself saw abnormal image with Breastlight.
|
41
|
100.00%
|
.ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
·
First of all I thank God
Almighty for making this work possible. My thesis supervisors,
Dr Mrs. M. T. Frempong, Prof. S. Asante-Poku and Dr. W. K. B. Owiredu have
imparted a life-time of knowledge and research skills to me over a short
period. I thank them.
·
I thank Dr. David J Watmough, CEO of
Highland Innovation Centre, Scotland, for giving me an opportunity to evaluate
the breastlight and imparting photography skills to me.
·
I thank the various ladies associations
of SSBank, GCBank, Tema oil refinery and Unilever – Ghana for their financial
support.
·
I thank the director of Noguchi
memorial centre for medical research-Ghana for giving us access to their well-equipped
laboratories.
• Latter Day
Saints Charities in Ghana funded the entire data coding and structuring. This
was a herculean task since data involved over 47,000 women from all ten regions
in Ghana. My special thanks go to Mr Isaac Ferguson for spearheading funding
this aspect of the work.
• I thank Mr.
David Renner, the former Managing Director of AngloGold Ashanti (Iduapriem Mines in Tarkwa) and African
Mining Resources for donating funds in support of this work.
• Support from the
departments of Medical Biochemistry and Anatomy (UGMS) with Laboratory space
and histology work was key to the successful completion of this work.
• I express my sincere thanks to Prof. Solomon
Ofori-Acquah (Emory University, Medical School, USA) for donating reagents for
IHC Assays. I thank histo-technologists of the histology department (UGMS) for
providing technical support for IHC work.
• Many thanks to The
world bank office, Accra and my dedicated staff at Mammocare for their support
with data collection nationwide.
• My thanks go to
my loving wife and family for their patience and fortitude during long periods
when I was away creating awareness and collecting data nationwide.
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