Prostate cancer is gradually reaching a very high incidence in Ghana, especially in the Bono region.

Unfortunately, majority of people are unable to get quality urology care whilst others who were privileged to see urologists sometimes along the line could not afford the cost of care. 

Thus, access to urology services within the Bono region is extremely limited due to lack of specialists and sometimes equipment. 

In all, only three urologists have provided care for the population in the former Brong Ahafo region now divided into Bono, Bono East and Ahafo.

The phenomenon had created a massive vacuum in urology services accessibility. 

Dr. Boateng Bosomtwi is one of the three urologists who work with Wenchi Methodist Hospital in the Bono region. 

In a week, he screened hundreds of patients for prostate cancer and other prostrate related defects. 

To get prostrate defects fixed, Dr. Boateng Bosomtwi performed surgery on close to 25 patients within a week. 

He bemoaned the limited access to urology services in the Bono, Bono East and Ahafo regions saying it is not the best. 

“If I am not mistaken, we have about 53 urologists in the country and in the former Brong Ahafo region we happen to only be 3. I wouldn’t say this number is adequate looking at our population, it is just not enough,” he stated. 

Dr. Boateng Bosomtwi who doubles as the Medical Director at the Wenchi Methodist Hospital admitted that the situation had resulted in the late reporting of patients to the hospitals. 

“The major challenge I will say is the late reporting by patients who have prostate cancer. They have roamed about all these places and then by the time they come, they have advanced diseases and you have to struggle to be able to help them,” Dr. Boateng Bosomtwi said.

Dr. Boateng Bosomtwi rebuffed the assertion that herbal preparations could cure prostate cancer and further advised people with prostate diseases to promptly report to the hospital. 

“Personally I do not have any problem with people who visit herbal centres. The main issue is that they are not trained to be able to differentiate cancers from non-cancerous prostate diseases and that is where the challenge is. 

“Some of the herbal treatments are known to help the patient avoid or the patient will be able to urinate well because his condition is not cancer. So I always tell my patients that if somebody tells you they want to treat your prostatic disease, ask them if it is cancer and if the person is not able to answer the question then that is not the right place for you,” he explained.

In order to create more access to urology services in the Bono region, Dr. Boateng Bosomtwi has officially commissioned a modern urology hospital in the heart on Sunyani the Bono regional capital. 

With the state of the art equipment, Bosomtwi Urology Hospital is expected to augment the services of the only urologist at the Sunyani regional hospital.