The Chief Executive Officer of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Prof Nii Otu Nartey, has said that the hospital will continue to increase its range of services to ensure that Ghanaians no longer travel outside for specialized treatment. This, he said, will help conserve the country's resources and also provide the requisite facilities for the training of doctors and other health professionals. Prof Nartey said this at the commissioning of Brachytherapy equipment for the treatment of prostrate cancer patients. With this commissioning, Ghana becomes the second country in Africa to offer Brachytherapy treatment. The equipment was offered free to the hospital by Bard Urological Incorporation of Germany under an agreement that requires Korle Bu to procure the inputs, called seedlings, for the treatment of patients from the company. Brachytherapy is the permanent implantation through hollow needles of radioactive seeds into the prostrate gland under the guidance of ultrasound imaging. Prostrate cancer patients in Ghana and the sub-region were hitherto treated through two methods known as radical prostatectomy and the external beam radiation. Patients treated under the two methods suffer from serious side effects such as impotence and urine incontinence. In view of these side effects of the old methods of prostrate cancer treatment, Brachytherapy had become the preferred option in North America and Europe. Those treated through Brachytherapy are highly unlikely to suffer from the side effects associated with the old methods of treating prostrate cancer. It costs over 14,000 pounds for Brachytherapy treatment in the United Kingdom and Ghanaian patients treated in Korle Bu will be required to pay between 6,000 euros and 7,000 euros. Sources at the Korle Bu Hospital quotes a urologist of the hospital, Dr. J.E. Mensah, as saying that that although there was no accurate cancer registry for men in Ghana, 50 per cent of genito-urinary deaths in Korle Bu were due to cancer of the prostrate. Dr. Joel Yanney, Head of the Radiotherapy and Nuclear Medicine Centre, said compared with other forms of treatment, Brachytherapy helps in the reduction of exposure of external organs which reduces the rate of contracting other diseases. He said this form of treatment takes a few hours in operating and patients who undergo the surgery can go home the same day if there are no complications. Another advantage of Brachytherapy is that cost of treatment is low and patients are put under less medication. He urged patients who were diagnosed with prostrate cancer in Ghana and the sub-region to come to the hospital for treatment especially since the hospital now has the equipment for treatment. Dr. J.E. Mensah and Dr. Joel Yanney underwent training in treatment procedures using Brachytherapy under the sponsorship deal with Bard Urological Incorporation. Credit: Korle Bu Teaching Hospital