In conjunction with the RAD-AID Ghana team and president of the Ghana Association of Radiologists (Dr. Augustina Badu-Peprah), we plan to provide didactic lectures, case-based lectures, and hands-on procedural workshops in breast imaging for the Ghanaian radiologists at Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in Kumasi and Korle Bu Hospital in Accra.
Our goal is to compile our lecture series into a complete curriculum for a breast imaging fellowship, with in-person educational workshops to augment the training. With their specialized training in breast imaging, the Ghanaian radiologists will be better equipped to help their community.
Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths for women globally. In low and middle-income countries such as Ghana, where health system resources are limited, women are diagnosed with breast cancer at a later stage and are more likely to die of the disease.
The mission of RAD-AID Ghana Breast Imaging is to help improve the breast cancer outcomes and survival of the Ghanaian community by promoting screening and early diagnosis of breast cancer.
By strengthening the breast imaging education of the Ghanaian radiologists, we hope to promote screening and early diagnosis of breast cancer in the community. The breast-trained radiologists will be equipped with the knowledge and skills to educate their community and other radiologists, as well as medical professionals in other fields such as surgery, gynecology, oncology, radiation oncology, and pathology. This multidisplinary approach will strengthen the pathway from diagnosis to treatment and subsequently improve patient outcomes.
My colleague Dr. Melissa Durand and I visited Korle Bu Hospital and 37 Military Teaching Hospital in Accra and Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) in Kumasi from June 11-June 17.
In preparation for the new Breast Imaging Fellowship in Ghana beginning in July 2023, we met with the heads of Radiology at Korle Bu Hospital (Dr. Klenam Dzefi-Tettey) and 37 Military Hospital (Dr. Ewurama Idun and Dr. Kofi Amedi). We also met with Dr. Samuel Asiamah (Chief Examiner for the Ghana College of Physicians and incoming president of the Ghana Association of Radiologists) to discuss the overall goals for the Breast Imaging Fellowship.
We provided in-person didactic and case-based lectures on breast imaging at KATH in Kumasi, which were made available through Zoom to the radiologists at the other hospitals in Accra. We held ultrasound-guided biopsy workshops for the residents and faculty at KATH and gave guidance during procedures performed on patients. We participated in the Breast Tumor Board with the surgeons and oncologists at KATH.
We will continue to work with the Radiology departments at these hospitals in Accra and Kumasi to find out their needs, such as stereotactic biopsy devices, biopsy clips, and needle localization wires. We will continue to provide a fellowship curriculum through Zoom lectures. We are working with other US-trained breast imaging radiologists to set up additional biopsy workshops in Ghana and find more opportunities of observerships for the Ghanaian breast imaging fellows.
