The Cassona Global Imaging Limited and Medical Scientific have partnered to make mammograms accessible to women in Ghana for early detection and treatment of breast cancer.
The partnership would ensure that women and health institutions had access to state-of-the-art mammograms at affordable prices to help reduce testing cost and encourage more women to regularly undergo breast cancer screening.
A mammogram is an X-ray picture of the breast. Doctors use a mammogram to look for early signs of breast cancer.
The leadership of Cassona and Medical Scientific signed a Memorandum of Understanding in Accra to formalise the partnership.
Mr John Chigbu, Chief Executive Officer, Cassona Ghana, signed on my behalf of Cassona, while Mr Stanley Sonkin, Project Manager, Medical Scientific, signed on behalf of Medical Scientific.
Mr Chigbu said by partnering with Medical Scientific, the company would ensure the supply of affordable mammograms in Ghana to boost breast cancer awareness and treatment.
He said the partnership was in keeping with Cassona’s resolve to supply affordable and efficient medical imaging equipment to health institutions in Ghana and build local expertise to operate and repair such machines.
“Foreign medical companies come here and they sell equipment to us. The equipment break down after two to three months.
“There are so many equipment sitting in the hospitals that are not working because it costs a lot of money to repair,” Mr Chigbu said, adding that: “We came here to change that because there is no value in having equipment that is not working.”
Mr Sonkin said Medical Scientific had observed that access to mammograms was challenging especially in developing countries, and assured that the partnership would “break down barriers” and ensure that every woman had access to screening services.
He said by providing affordable mammograms, the company sought to empower women to take control of their health and wellbeing.
“This partnership signifies our shared commitment to making a tangible difference in the lives of women by promoting early detection and screening for breast cancer,” Mr Sonkin said.
Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women and the leading cause of death among women.
According to the World Health Organisation data in 2020, 2.3 million women were diagnosed with breast cancer with 685,000 deaths globally.
A report by Globacom also indicates that more than 4,650 new breast cancer cases are diagnosed in Ghana annually since 2020 with 2,020 deaths.
