When you are in a fight against cancer, it’s good to know that you can count on support, and that your journey as a cancer patient matters. Sweden Ghana Medical Centre (SGMC) is grateful to the Trio Bridge Foundation for its pledge of support to our cancer patients who are undergoing chemotherapy treatment. Our chemo patients receive doses of cytotoxic drugs which are specially formulated to destroy cancer cells that are growing rapidly in the patient’s body. Unfortunately, one of the side effects of chemotherapy drugs is that they also affect other fast-growing cells in the body. This is why people who are undergoing chemotherapy often lose their hair.
The good news is that after treatment, their hair grows back – many times it is thicker and stronger than before. But while our chemo patients are going through their treatment processes, as they lose hair their scalps become exposed and their heads are more sensitive to warmth and heat. For some of them, the loss of hair is also part of the stigma of being a cancer patient.
Chemotherapy is used for many types of cancer. As a result, our chemo patients are all ages, from young teenagers to older generations. It’s for the benefit of all our chemo patients that we are grateful for a generous donation we have received. On Monday February 24th, we were given 100 baseball caps by TRIO BRIDGE, a non-profit organization that essentially seeks to improve healthcare delivery in developing countries. Dr. Gilbert Buckle, Host of Trio Bridge Foundation in Ghana, personally presented our clinical treatment team with 100 NEW ERA baseball caps to be distributed amongst our patient network.
“We want cancer patients to know that Trio Bridge cares about improving healthcare in Africa,” was the message from Dr Buckle as he handed over the donated caps. The SGMC Cancer Care team will hand out caps not only to cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy at our Cancer Centre; we will also share these caps with the non-profit organizations we support that do patient advocacy for those dealing with cancer treatment.
After receiving the donation, the General Manager at SGMC, Janine de Nysschen, commented: “Our mission in the cancer clinic is to help take away the burden of cancer for our patients and their families. Gestures such as these – the donation of caps for chemotherapy patients – are both practical and inspirational. A simple cap will not only warm a sensitive scalp for a chemo patient. It will also reduce a little of the stigma of being a cancer patient.”
About the donors: The TRIO Bridge Foundation is a registered charitable foundation and a social enterprise devoted to the promotion of a holistic and evidence-based approach to healthcare provision in developing countries. This is conducted through a structured high impact hands-on simulation training and targeted education.
About SGMC: The SGMC Cancer Centre is recognized for offering among the best private cancer care in West Africa. Our promise is that in everything we do, we will always strive to take away the burden of cancer. Our mission is to be a role model across Africa for oncology care. SGMC’s medical team is known for its excellent standards and the high quality of services and personal care we provide. We are pacesetters in our field, with skilled employees who are motivated to deliver the best cancer treatment outcomes for all our patients.
For more information about Sweden Ghana Medical Centre, please contact James Sarfo, Marketing Communications Manager at +233 508 559 514