Dr Thomas Pollare, Chief Executive Officer of Sweden-Ghana Medical Centre (SGMC), on Monday said the Centre is committed to offer cancer care services to Ghana and West Africa, using state-of-the-art techniques.
He said SGMC ran a comprehensive cancer care facility which aimed at developing a centre of excellence for various cancer care modalities, adding that a Medical Advisory Board made up of internationally respected doctors, in collaboration with a local medical team, had been constituted.
Dr Pollare was speaking at a press briefing after a tour of the facility at the centre at Nma Djor in Accra in the Adenta Municipality.
The centre operates a basic cancer care unit, which includes Radiotherapy, Chemotherapy, Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Computerize Tomography Scan, as well as offering consultation and advice to cancer patients.
Dr Pollare said the facility, which was established in 2007, was initiated at the instance of a Scandinavian Care Project AB based in Stockholm and financed by Global Medical Investment, Swedfund and Elekta, as well as some Ghanaian investors.
He said the SGMC was faced with human resource challenges and the bad nature of the road network leading to the center.
Dr Pollare said another major challenge was the possibility of having full time Ghanaian Medical Engineers, Radiographers and Radio-Oncologist to assist the facility. “What has been done so far is a collaboration of both local and foreign personnel for the needed support.”
Dr Pollare said the SGMC had plans to add more advanced radiotherapy, basic diagnostic equipment, intensity modulated radiotherapy, bigger ultra modern Chemotherapy Suit, a 50- bed hospital and, at a later stage, a patient hotel in the near future.
He said the SGMC (needed the support of Ghanaians, especially the media, to carry the message of good health care across the country and the West African sub-region. “It is our hope that Ghanaians and other neighbouring countries will give us the needed support to give them the best health care.”
Cancer is a class of diseases characterised by out-of-control cell growth and has over 1000 different types, with each classified by the type of cell that was initially affected.
It is also characterised (www.replicapro.com) by a cluster of cells forming a tumor. Apart from the uncontrolled cell growth, cancer has the capacity to invade surrounding tissues and spread to other organs.
Vibe Ghana