Establishment of a Breast Cancer Unit at Holy Family Hospital, Techiman, Ghana
From No Clinic to Comprehensive Care
When MSIP first arrived in Techiman, a woman who found a lump had almost nowhere to turn. There was no breast clinic, and breast surgery was not possible at the hospital. Every suspicious finding meant a journey to Kumasi — four to five hours by car or bus, costly and, for many families, simply out of reach. For patients already frightened by what they had discovered, the distance often became a reason to wait, and waiting with breast cancer is dangerous.
In Ghana, it is surgeons rather than gynaecologists who treat breast cancer. MSIP was introduced to a local surgeon who had written his dissertation on the disease and was eager to go further. A few months later, he travelled to Hamburg for four weeks to work through the essentials of diagnosis, surgery, and chemotherapy — the foundation on which everything that followed would be built.
Building the Unit
In December 2023, Holy Family Catholic Hospital opened a dedicated Breast Cancer Unit — a turning point for women’s health in the region. Getting there took careful groundwork. The principles of chemotherapy and the treatment protocols were worked through together with the hospital’s head pharmacist, and MSIP financed a laminar air flow hood so that medication could be prepared safely and for more patients at once. The hospital renovated and furnished its own rooms for the chemotherapy unit. In the early days, each patient’s treatment was still discussed case by case over email; since then, several nurses have trained as oncology nurses at the teaching hospital in Kumasi.
Once the surgeon returned from Hamburg, a weekly Breast Care Clinic opened its doors to women with suspicious findings, and a donor soon provided an ultrasound machine to sharpen diagnosis and guide biopsies. In a remarkably short time, a functioning breast clinic and chemotherapy unit had taken shape — and for most patients, the long road to Kumasi was no longer necessary.
Leadership and Vision
The unit is led by Dr. Kingsley Bosompem, Senior Specialist and General Surgeon, who also serves as Lead for Breast Care at Holy Family Hospital. Around him works a multidisciplinary team whose care rests on two things in equal measure: clinical skill and genuine compassion.
“Our goal is not only to treat breast cancer but to walk with our patients every step of the way — from awareness and diagnosis to treatment, recovery and hope.” — Dr. Kingsley Bosompem, Senior Specialist and Head, Breast Cancer Unit
Progress and Impact – Mid-Year 2025
The first half of 2025 shows what the unit now makes possible. Between January and June, 499 women came to the Breast Care Clinic, which runs every Friday — and for 44 of them, the visit ended with a breast cancer diagnosis and the start of treatment close to home. Behind that headline stand the quieter numbers that make it real: 411 women screened, 54 core biopsies, and 243 chemotherapy cycles given to 28 patients. Several women came through surgery — mastectomies and lumpectomies — and left with both their health and their confidence restored.
Reaching Rural Communities – Prevention Program
Too many women still arrive when the disease is already far advanced. To reach them earlier, MSIP launched a breast cancer prevention program in September 2025, aimed above all at rural communities. Six public health nurses have been trained, and over twelve months the team will visit all 23 districts of the Bono East Region twice — bringing ultrasound scans and biopsies directly to the women wherever possible. A short awareness film and a radio program for local stations are on the way, so that the message reaches even those the team cannot meet in person.
The first outreach in Techiman gave a sense of the need: 128 women came to be screened, 40 received a free breast ultrasound on the spot, and two core biopsies were performed.
Challenges and the Road Ahead
None of this comes cheap. Chemotherapy drugs are expensive, and even the needles for a biopsy and the pathologist’s work can place a heavy burden on a single family. With the continued support of Prof. Susanna Hegewisch-Becker, Medical Oncologist and MSIP partner in Hamburg, the unit has secured funding to offer free diagnosis and treatment to 150 underserved women across Techiman and the Bono East Region — a real step toward care that does not depend on what a patient can pay.
What has been built here in so short a time is, above all, the work of a deeply committed team. Breast cancer is treatable, especially when it is caught early — and that is the promise the Holy Family team keeps working toward: raising awareness, breaking the silence around the disease, and giving women reason to hope, one patient at a time.
