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Breast cancer awareness, education, and treatment has been out of reach for many women in Ghana. But Dr. Beatrice Wiafe Addai is working to get cancer interventions to patients sooner, dramatically increasing survival rates.
Raheema Quaye, a double mastectomy and 19-year cancer survivor, is a peer navigator employed at Peace and Love Hospital and Breast Care International,. Quaye is pictured at a health education event organized by Dr. Beatrice Wiafe Addai in Ghana during August 2025. (Photo by David Uttley for Direct Relief)
The woman was wheeled into the hospital on a stretcher, her body frail, her skin stretched tight over bones that had already given way to multiple types of cancer. She was only 41 years old. Her breast lump, once painless, now protruded through the skin. The woman’s eyes locked on Dr. Beatrice Wiafe Addai.
“Her eyes were piercing through mine, asking me to save her,” Dr. Addai recalled. “She didn’t want to die and leave her young children.”
For Dr. Addai, then a young surgeon, that moment would become a turning point. “I asked her why she had come so late. She told me, ‘Doctor, I didn’t know. I didn’t know this painless lump could end like this.’”
The encounter exposed a devastating truth, according to Addai. Many Ghanaian women simply did not know about the telltale signs and risks of breast cancer. In a culture where breast cancer was rarely spoken of, where a lump might be treated with prayer, herbs, or even considered a spiritual curse, women often sought care only when the disease was far advanced.
That same night, troubled, Dr. Addai went to a friend’s house. She told her she needed a platform to speak to women directly. Her friend suggested going with her to church. That Sunday, Dr. Addai was standing before a congregation, answering basic questions, a couple of which she remembered were, “If a lump is painless, why should I worry? Can breast cancer be cured by witchcraft?”
The events of that week would mark the beginning of her life’s mission.
Breast Care International
Dr. Beatrice Wiafe Addai holds pharmaceuticals during a recent visit with Direct Relief CEO Amy Weaver in Ghana. (Photo by David Uttley for Direct Relief)
Breast cancer ranks as the most prevalent cancer affecting women globally, yet outcomes differ starkly depending on geography. In the United States, breast cancer deaths have dropped 43% since 1989. But in Ghana, more than 4,000 women are diagnosed each year, and nearly half will die. As many as 70% are diagnosed at advanced stages, when chances of survival plummet.
In 2002, Addai founded Breast Care International, or BCI, to break the silence surrounding breast cancer in Ghana. She assembled nurses, doctors, and volunteers to fan out into markets, parks, and villages in some of the most remote parts of the country, offering clinical breast screenings and education. Over time, she expanded awareness campaigns into schools, churches, and on radio programs, reaching thousands.
But awareness was only one piece of the puzzle. Even when diagnosed, many women could not afford the transportation costs of going to one of the few in-country hospitals offering oncology treatment, much less lifesaving drugs. Access to cancer medication was inconsistent, often dependent on unreliable donations. That changed when Addai was introduced to Teva Pharmaceuticals by Direct Relief.
In January 2022, Teva launched its Breast Cancer Access Program in partnership with BCI and Direct Relief. The program provides essential cancer medications to up to 400 women annually in Ghana.
“You cannot explain how people feel when they receive these medications, people who had no hope,” Addai said about the program in 2023. “It gives them life, it gives their families hope, and it gives us, as doctors, the strength to continue.”
Young women attend a cancer awareness event organized by Dr. Beatrice Wiafe Addai in Ghana, August 2025. (Photo by David Uttley for Direct Relief)
Teva and BCI have also extended their impact with regional projects: training doctors and physician assistants in early detection, equipping journalists to cover cancer accurately, and investigating links between environmental pollution and rising cancer rates in mining regions.
“Teva has done a lot for the country, for our women, children, and country at large,” Addai said.
Building a Permanent Home for Cancer Care
Education and medicine were critical, but Addai wanted to tackle the root problem. Ghana lacked a single, modern, comprehensive cancer center. Some patients were able to travel abroad for care, but it is an impossible option for most. In October 2024, Addai and a team of collaborators broke ground on the Comprehensive Cancer Centre of Excellence, a one-stop hub in Ghana designed to serve Ghana, the region, and Africa as a whole.
The vision is sweeping and includes departments focused on prevention, screening, surgery, radiotherapy, palliative care, survivorship programs, and cutting-edge research. International partners, including U.S. and European academic and research institutions, including Johns Hopkins University, the University of Oxford, and Memorial Sloan Kettering, are collaborating to strengthen local expertise.
The center, named for an Ashanti King, sits on a 52-acre site. The first phase, a $10 million radiotherapy wing, is critical. In Ghana, a country with 33 million people, there are only three radiotherapy centers. Treatment delays are routine and can be deadly.
“This is not just about breast cancer,” Addai explained. “We must expand to all cancers. We are not reinventing the wheel; we are learning from high-income countries, adapting to our context, and building a center that can save lives.”
The full project will cost $100 million, but Addai is undeterred. “Whoever can assist with equipment, funding, or manpower, we welcome them,” she said.
From Weeks to Minutes
Technology has also become central to her fight. At Peace and Love Hospital, she introduced CoreView, a breakthrough device from UC Davis. A biopsy sample placed in the machine generates digital images that can be read remotely within minutes. In a country where pathology results often take weeks or are lost entirely, this is revolutionary.
“The experience has been incredible,” she said. “With CoreView, a woman can get her diagnosis in ten minutes. That is a game-changer.” She hopes to expand CoreView across Ghana and eventually to other low- and middle-income countries as well as underserved areas in high-income countries.
Dr. Beatrice Wiafe Addai, CEO of BCI and Peace and Love Hospital, and Mark Edward Fauver, an engineer from the University of Washington, with a CoreView machine. (Photo by David Uttley for Direct Relief)
Addai’s relentless service has not gone unnoticed. Earlier this year, she was honored with the President’s Lifetime Achievement Award, one of the highest civilian honors in the United States. She has also partnered with the Komen Foundation, leading breast cancer walks in American cities with large Ghanaian populations since 2011. In addition to her nonprofit leadership, Addai serves as the CEO of Peace and Love Hospitals.
Despite the accolades, Addai’s focus remains on the women, children, and men she has reached in Ghana. “My main aim is to get women or men who are diagnosed with breast cancer, or prostate cancer, or other cancers to get the treatment they need in a timely way… our biggest headache is still late-stage diagnosis.”
The memory of the woman on the stretcher still stays with Addai. But in Ghana today, more women are reaching care earlier, with a chance to survive.
Direct Relief has provided more than $154 million in medical support to Breast Care International since 2014.
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