By Emma Black
Cremelda Pratt, Executive Director of Thinking Pink Breast Cancer Foundation, has renewed her call for the Government of Sierra Leone to prioritise breast cancer as a national health emergency amid steadily rising incidence and persistent gaps in early detection, treatment infrastructure, and funding.
Speaking ahead of World Cancer Day 2026, Pratt announced that Thinking Pink will host its annual awareness event in Bombali District, honouring cancer patients and children who have lost mothers to the disease. The event aims to encourage more women to seek screening and treatment while highlighting the human cost of late diagnosis.
According to the latest available data (GLOBOCAN 2022 estimates, updated through 2024–2025 national hospital records and cancer registry reports), breast cancer remains one of the two most common cancers among women in Sierra Leone, accounting for approximately 10.6% of all new female cancer cases. Age-standardised incidence rates have increased significantly over recent decades from around 102.7 per 100,000 women in 2000 to approximately 157.9 per 100,000 in 2019 with continued upward trends observed in 2024 and 2025. Hospital admissions for advanced breast cancer have risen noticeably in Freetown and regional centres, reflecting both population growth and delayed presentation.
Pratt explained that the majority of cases reach health facilities at stage III or IV, when treatment options are limited and survival rates drop sharply. “Many women in villages see lumps or feel pain but think it’s a curse, a sexually transmitted disease, or something shameful,” she said. “They self-medicate with herbs or wait until it’s too late. By the time they reach Connaught Hospital, the cancer is often advanced.”
Sierra Leone currently lacks comprehensive oncology infrastructure. There is no radiotherapy facility and chemotherapy is extremely limited and expensive. Most women who can afford it travel to Ghana or other countries for treatment an option out of reach for the majority. “We lose women every day because we cannot offer timely, effective care here,” Pratt added.
Thinking Pink conducts free breast screenings during World Cancer Day and throughout October (Breast Cancer Awareness Month), targeting financially challenged women and girls. In recent campaigns, volunteers identified up to 20 women with significant breast lumps in a single session, yet funding constraints allowed screening and follow-up for only about five. “The rest go home with advice, but without resources many delay again until it’s too late,” Pratt noted.
The foundation hosts an annual half-marathon and symposiums to raise funds and awareness. It also supports treatment costs and facilitates out-of-country care when possible. Pratt appealed directly to the Government, the Office of the First Lady, and international partners for greater investment in:
Nationwide early detection and screening programmes, Diagnostic equipment and trained oncology nurses and doctors, Affordable chemotherapy and radiotherapy infrastructure, public education campaigns in Krio and local languages to reduce stigma
Breast cancer is claiming our women and leaving children motherless far too often, she said, if we had funding for chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and widespread screening, many lives could be saved. We are doing everything we can, but we need more support from government and partners.
Thinking Pink continues to call on donors, ministries, and the private sector to treat breast cancer as a national priority. With early detection and proper treatment, the disease is highly survivable yet in Sierra Leone, too many women never get that chance.
Copyright –Published in Expo Times News on Wednesday, 4th February 2026 (ExpoTimes News – Expo Media Group (expomediasl.com)
