The Vice Chancellor of the University of Health and Allied Sciences (UHAS), Professor Lydia Aziato, has commended the establishment of the Ghana Medical Trust Fund, saying the initiative will ease the financial burden associated with cancer treatment and other chronic diseases in Ghana.

Prof. Aziato, a trained oncology and chronic-care nurse, said the cost of cancer treatment remains a major challenge for many patients, forcing some to delay seeking medical attention or resort to spiritual interventions before accessing professional healthcare.

She made the remarks at a stakeholders’ engagement on the Ghana Medical Trust Fund in Ho where she shared experiences from her research and professional practice in cancer care.

Prof. Aziato recalled a statement from a breast cancer patient in one of her research works which, she said, reflected the fear and trauma experienced by many cancer patients following diagnosis.

According to her, the patient recounted how a doctor told her that she had breast cancer after which she became distressed and was asked to go home and prepare herself for a mastectomy.

Prof. Aziato said such experiences were common among cancer patients, noting that women with breast and cervical cancers as well as patients suffering from other forms of cancer often faced enormous emotional and financial difficulties.

She indicated that the high cost of chemotherapy, radiotherapy, surgery and other forms of specialised treatment meant that many patients could not afford the care they needed.

“Some of our women, when they realise they have an anomaly, first go to the church to pray for a miracle,” she said, adding that some patients subsequently underwent various forms of fasting, prayers and anointing before seeking medical treatment.

Prof. Aziato, however, stressed that prayer and medical treatment could complement each other, urging patients not to delay seeking professional medical care.

She expressed optimism that the Ghana Medical Trust Fund would make a significant difference by supporting patients who could not afford the cost of treatment including surgery, chemotherapy and management of related side effects.

The UHAS Vice Chancellor also welcomed the government's free primary healthcare initiative, saying it could play an important role in early detection and treatment of diseases.

She said early detection of cancer significantly improved patients’ chances of survival, citing her research in which some women diagnosed with breast cancer had survived for more than two decades.

Prof. Aziato said her research had also documented cases where patients who reported late died of the disease, underscoring the need for early screening, diagnosis and treatment.

She urged Ghanaians not to assume that they were immune to cancer but to take preventive measures and seek medical attention promptly whenever they detected unusual changes in their bodies.

“I want us to detect early because we cannot say we will not get it,” she said.

Prof. Aziato expressed appreciation to the government for establishing the Ghana Medical Trust Fund, saying the intervention could provide critical support to ordinary Ghanaians who would struggle to pay for specialised medical care.

She said her support for the initiative was based on her years of professional experience and research into cancer care where she had witnessed the physical, emotional and financial suffering associated with the disease.

“Some of the women suffer greatly. You see their breasts like cauliflower, with wounds that bleed,” she said, stressing the need for stronger interventions to ensure that cancer patients received timely and affordable care.