Physical Health Ghana Project #15444

Improve Cancer Care For 100 Children In Ghana

by World Child Cancer USA

Improve Cancer Care For 100 Children In Ghana

Project Report | Jul 16, 2014
Final Report: Thank you for your support!

By LeAnn Fickes | Operations & Development Manager

Project Lead Dr. Renner with patients & staff

Hello Friends,

We've got some fantastic news to share: thanks to your donations and support from the UK Government, our project in Ghana is fully funded for the next three years. Your donations have helped subsidize cancer drugs for over 80 children - thank you! Please read on to learn about our May project visit and how you can help continue to support World Child Cancer USA.

At the end of May, I visited our project at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH) for the 8th training and sustainability planning meetings. The training workshop, led by project lead Dr. Lorna Renner and Dr. Cathy Segbefia from KBTH, was attended by 30 doctors, nurses and pharmacists from hospitals throughout Ghana. Training Ghanaian medics is a key component to improve cancer care in Ghana because it enables children to be treated closer to home. Yussif, a pediatric nurse from Tamale Teaching Hospital, said this about the training: "I am grateful to be pare of this workshop and I hope to use the knowledge acquired after the training to improve clinical practice at the hospital." For more pictures from the training, please view our Facbook album here.

In addition to the training workshops, Dr. Renner led the first annual sustainability meeting with key stakeholders from the Ghana Ministry of Health, Ghana Health Service, Ghana Parent's Association for Childhood Cancer, World Child Cancer, local nonprofits, and hospital leads. The group discussed ways to improve childhood cancer care across Ghana and long-term project sustainability. Local fundraising, awareness campaigns (posters and radio/TV), trainings, drug cost support, and the implementation of Ghana's National Cancer Plan, are key areas the group has committed to support.

THANK YOU again for your contribution to our project in Ghana. Thanks to you, we've been able to help more children with cancer, like Mabel. Since the project is now fully funded, this is the final report we'll be posting. If you'd like to continue to receive updates, please email me at leann.fickes@worldchildcancer.us to be included in our monthly e-newsletter.

Would you like to continue to support World Child Cancer USA? We're raising funds to expand our project in the Philippines to help children with cancer on the island of Mindanao. Global Giving is matching donations up to $1,000 at 30% TODAY, July 16th only. This means, if you donate $100, $130 will go towards helping children fight cancer in Mindano. Donate here to make your donation go further today. Thank you for your continued support!

Best wishes,

LeAnn and the World Child Cancer USA Team

May Training Workshop Participants

Nurse Joyce & Dr. Jan Kohler

Dr. Edwin's Workshop on Communication Skills

Mabel

Links:

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May 14, 2014
May Update: Learn how you helped Faustina

By LeAnn Fickes | Operations & Development Manager

Five-year-old Faustina with her father Eric

Hello supporters!

We'd like to thank you for your continued support and update you on our progress in 2014. We are really pleased to report that our project in Ghana continues to make lots of progress and more and more children are receiving treatment for cancer. Thank you!

Your support is helping children like Faustina receive life-saving cancer treatment. Five-year-old Faustina was diagnosed with retinoblastoma (eye cancer) at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in Kumasi. Thanks to your help, Faustina has had surgery and several rounds of chemotherapy. She's now back in school and continues to receive check-ups at the hospital. Faustina's father Eric told nurse Janet Sarpong, "The hospital has done a very good job. If you were not here, Faustina would not be with us."

Pediatric cancer treatment costs at least $700 per child - a price that is out of reach for most families in Ghana. Thanks to your donations, World Child Cancer covers the cost of drugs, care, and treatment to ensure every child diagnosed has a chance to fight cancer. To learn more, please read this article by the Financial Times on the cost of cancer care in Ghana here.

Our next project visit and training workshops will take place at the end of May at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra. A two-day training will be held to teach local medical staff childhood cancer care techniques and will include several clinical workshops. Additionally, a sustainability planning meeting will be held with the Ministry of Health, hospital administration, local nongovernmental organizations, World Child Cancer, parent support group members, and project leaders. During this meeting, we'll plan how we can help more children with cancer in Ghana. Stay tuned for more pictures and updates in our next report!

THANK YOU once again to all of our amazing supporters for allowing us to continue helping these children in Ghana! Please contact LeAnn at leann.fickes@worldchildcancer.us if you have any questions or would like more information - we're always happy to hear from you.

A nurse with a young patient and her mother

November Training Workshop

Links:

Financial Times Article on the Cost of Cancer Care in Ghana

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Feb 14, 2014
Update: Improve Cancer Care for 100 Children in Ghana

By LeAnn Fickes | Operations & Development Manager

Peggy

Hello Supporters!

We'd like to thank each and every one of you for supporting our project in Ghana. Your generosity has raised almost $6,000 for the project, which is enough to buy life-saving chemotherapy drugs for at least 75 children. Thank you!

Our project at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra has made amazing progress in 2013, thanks to your contributions. Bi-annual training workshops were held at the project center in Accra and also at the first satellite center in Kumasi. More than 40 professionals attended the trainings, led by project leader Dr. Lorna Renner and medical professionals from the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in the UK. Medical specialists from Celgene also led a training workshop on the use of chemotherapy and managing complications in patients. Thanks to our fantastic medical volunteers who donate their time, your contributions go further.

Additionally, the local parent support group and Dr. Renner led country-wide awareness with talks on TV, radio, newspaper articles, rallies and celebrity advocates. Awareness campaigns are important to let communities know the signs of childhood cancer and that cancer can be cured. For pictures from our latest project visit, please view our Facebook album, here.

World Child Cancers projects in Accra and Kumasi are currently caring for 250 children per year. However, it's estimated that there are 1,000 new childhood cancer cases in Ghana every year. In the next three years, World Child Cancer is planning on establishing an additional 4 satellite centers to help more children throughout Ghana.

We've reached our initial goal of $5,000 and have increased our goal to $12,000 to be able to expand our project to help more children, like three-year-old Peggy, in Ghana. Peggy and her family traveled over 6 hours from Tarkwa in order for Peggy to receive chemotherapy for Wilms' tumor (kidney cancer). She's doing well and will begin her second round of treatment soon, thanks to your support.

THANK YOU once again to all of our amazing supporters for allowing us to continue helping children in Ghana! We're so happy to have your ongoing support. Stay tuned for more updates in 2014!

Gloria, a leukemia patient & Nurse Margarita

Links:

An interview with project leader Dr. Lorna Renner

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