Breast cancer remains a significant health challenge globally with approximately 2.3M new cases in 2022. 01 While breast cancer deaths continue to fall in many countries worldwide, in others the situation is very different. In this article we meet some of the inspiring people who are working to change this situation.

Breast cancer is still the world’s most prevalent cancer, but survival rates have greatly improved since the 1980s in countries that have early detection programs and different ways of treating it. 02 But in other countries, the picture is very different.

Studies show that women in Ghana are diagnosed at more advanced stages of the disease - up to 70% of women have advanced stage cancer by the time it is identified, resulting in limited treatment success and high death rates. 03 This frequently comes down to a lack of awareness and education, as well as common myths, stigmas and misconceptions.

Treating women with breast cancer in Ghana, as well as raising awareness about the condition, has been an important part of Dr Beatrice Wiafe Addai’s lifelong work. General surgeon, breast surgeon and consultant in breast cancer management, she is the founder and CEO of Ghana’s Peace and Love Hospitals and founder and president of Breast Care International (BCI) and BCI America.

“We have an unfortunate situation in Ghana where the majority of breast cancer patients present with advanced stage cancer. This makes the cure difficult, especially when it’s an advanced tumor. Some of our patients are also quite young when cancer strikes, and the tumors are more aggressive.”

Diagnosis is only the start of the journey and once treatment begins, it is vital that our patients get the medicines they need.

“A course of chemotherapy can last for six or eight cycles,” says Dr Addai. “Sometimes when patients are receiving chemo, their white blood cell counts goes down and we have to stop treatment. There is a drug to counteract this but it is very expensive in Ghana and most patients cannot afford to buy it.”

Working to support Dr Addai’s mission, Teva’s breast cancer access program was set up in January 2022 and provides crucial medicines, treating about 2,350 women in 2024 alone. In 2024, Teva contributed approximately 329,000-unit doses valued at approximately $1.5M to support the fight against this disease. Since 2022, Teva has donated more than one million doses to this program, valued at over $4.4M.

“You cannot explain how people feel when they receive these medications, these people who had no hope of receiving cancer treatment,” she says. “It gives a lot of hope to patients and it gives joy to the prescribers and care givers. At last, a woman who needs the meds gets a constant supply throughout the course of her treatment.”

“Through our Access Programs, we are trying to reach underserved populations that we're not reaching through our normal commercial pathways”, explains Yonina Fleischman, who leads Teva’s Healthy Equity and Access team. “We are delighted to be working with Dr Addai for our first breast cancer program. We want it to be scalable and sustainable and plans are already underway to expand our breast cancer initiatives.”

This is one of eight access programs that Teva has committed to run globally by 2025, getting medicines to more people, including in low and middle-income countries, who otherwise would not be able to access them.

The process of getting medications to underserved populations in often hard-to-reach-areas can be a tricky one – and this is where the third member of the partnership comes in, humanitarian aid organization Direct Relief. VP Tom Roane explains:

“Teva brings its world class drugs to the program. It has a portfolio second to none in terms of the drugs that are required on international protocols to be able to properly treat breast cancer patients. Direct Relief brings the supply chain logistics expertise, making sure those medicines get to where they need to, in perfect condition.”

It’s not just about donating the medicines. It’s also about creating an effective supply chain and the right storage conditions - many need to be stored in a refrigerator for example. Then, once everything is in place, women need to access the treatments, often from very remote rural areas where they live.

On supporting underserved communities, Tom adds: "As low- and middle-income countries continue to expand capacity for healthcare services, including the provision of specialized treatment and care, the opportunity to show the benefits of investments in humanitarian approaches like this project with BCI, Teva, and Direct Relief are critical to move towards lasting improvement in the healthcare system." 

"In partnership with Teva we have been offering patient support for education and awareness creation, psychological care and treatment,” Dr Wiafe Addai explains. “We have the largest breast cancer survivor association in Africa and intend to set up various patient groups, similar to those in the US and UK, where especially vulnerable women can access information, financial and social support, since such groups/systems do not presently exist in our country".

“There are a lot of myths and misconceptions around breast cancer in Ghana”, she continues.” Women traditionally find a lump and go to their local prayer group or herbalist to cure it. In the past there have been no screening programs, so we are teaching people how to do their own breast self-examination. Thanks to our work with Teva, clinical breast screenings are being offered to more women in the communities, in churches, markets and other places, especially in the hard-to-reach areas. We are educating young women in high schools about breast cancer ("Young Ambassadors") and encouraging them to share this knowledge with the women in their families. We hope to train more across the entire country".

In 2024, Teva’s partnership with Breast Care International continued to make significant strides in combating breast cancer in Ghana. We expanded our efforts to include comprehensive capacity-building initiatives aimed at enhancing the skills of healthcare professionals and increasing community awareness across remote villages in the North Western region of Ghana.

BCI conducted oncology training programs for physician assistants and nurses reaching more than 65 healthcare professionals (HCPs), executed community outreach programs reaching over 7,800 community members, providing critical knowledge about breast cancer early detection and prevention, and organized clinical screening sessions reaching over 4,500 individuals, allowing for the early identification of potential cases. Expansion is underway to the Eastern region as well. 

The legacy of this work will hopefully speak for itself in the months and years to come.

“Beatrice is ahead of the curve in the community outreach and early detection work that she does,” says Tom Roane, “She has really made community outreach and early detection a key portion of her cancer care program. She’s not just providing treatment, she is helping to change lives.”

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