'Throat cancer take my voice and marriage, now I dey inspire others'

At di back of every cancer diagnosis na personal tori – of pain, strength, love and hope.

As millions of pipo don dey battle di disease around di world, every pesin get dia ogbonge tori wey fit into di theme for dis year world cancer day campaign wey be 'united by unique.'

Di theme dey tok about di wahala cancer patients and survivors bin dey go through for dia life, wey pipo no sabi.

One of dis pipo na Mary Amankwah Fordwor wey be ogbonge midwife for di St. Anthony's catholic hospital for Ghana wey dem diagnose wit throat cancer for 2021.

"I see say my neck swell and e no dey pain me – but di swelling no go away," di mama of two tell BBC.

Sabi pipo go later confam say di tin no be ordinary swelling, na cancer.

Im do 14 surgeries, some get complications, las las dem remove im voice box.

Mary now dey use wetin dem dey call 'voice prosthesis' wey be artificial voice; she no fit to eat like bifor.

She bin find out dis condition afta im get promotion to di rank of senior midwifery officer for di hospital wia im dey work.

Dis cancer bin change im life for work and emotionally, as im also lose im 12-year-old marriage.

Every year, Africa dey record 1.1 million cancer cases wey 700,0000 pipo dey die, according to di world health organization.

Di global number dey higher as cancer dey kill 10 million pipo every year as di world kontinu to dey fight di sickness wey sabi pipo still dey struggle to understand.

"During chemo and radiation therapy, I bin see say pipo dey die; na so I create whatsapp page wit 12 pipo, wia I dey use my life and tori to ginger dem say life dey afta cancer," she tell BBC.

Mary dey teach pipo many tins about cancer wit her tiktok, Instagram and YouTube page.

Wen she visit schools, churches and oda companies, im dey preach about how pipo get to accept diaserf and odas wey dey fight cancer.

"I no sabi wetin self-love be. I no sabi wetin self-esteem be, until I bin get throat cancer," she tok.

Doctors no fit to find wetin cause Mary im cancer, but according to di WHO, "for 90% of pipo, di body dey control di infection by itsef wey continuous human papillomavirus (HPV) infection wit high-risk HPV types, na di cause of cervical cancer wey e dey associated wit cancer of di vulva, vagina, mouth/throat, penis and anus."

For 2019, HPV bin cause about 620,000 cancer cases in women wey 70,000 of di cases happun for men worldwide.

Di WHO 2022 global cancer observatory for Ghana show say throat cancer na di seventeenth cancer wey dey common out of thirty-two cancers, wey dem record 227 new cases dat year; also dem find five-year prevalence of 626.

For Africa, di observatory find say 10,665 new cases happun for 2022, wit a five-year prevalence of 28,077.

"People bin dey ignore di signs and symptoms – if we don find am early, we fit to do sometin about di situation," Dr Ama Boatemaa Prah, wey be Otolaryngologist wit Ghana Korlebu teaching hospital explain.

Early signs include if pesin voice block wey e no clear, pipo go dey struggle to breathe and dey swallow and if pesin get flu wey no dey go away – dem suppose take dis tins serious.

"Bifor we dey see throat cancer among old pipo but now, we dey see many young pipo – 40 years and below," Dr Prah tok.

Mary dey lucky say im dey get treatment wey she still dey alive, doctors bin tok say e dey too early to say she be cancer-free.

"Throat cancer take away my wonderful voice; wey e also take away my 12-year marriage," she said.

Her tori make her one of di women wey dia husband dey neglect dem wen dey get cancer, as one ogbonge research by di University of Michigan in 2014 find.

Di research show say 31% of marriages wey involve physical sickness dey end for divorce – as more men dey likely to leave dia sick wives.

Anoda study from di Fred Hutchinson cancer research centre for 2009, find say divorce rate wen di woman na di cancer patient dey at 20.8%, wia di rate wen di man na di cancer patient, na just 2.9%.

Sabi pipo for Ghana tok say dis wahala continue to dey happun even though no official data dey available.

Mary always dey tok to hersef say she make di right decision as im choose her life ova her marriage.

Her mama and papa and two pikins wey be 11 and eight years – dey support am even though di pikins no understand wetin dia mama dey go through at first.

"My mama tell us say im get cancer, na so we go visit am for hospital afta im surgery – I tink say she go die. But now, she still dey wit us and we dey happy," Emmanuella, Mary im eight-year-old pikin tok.

Dr Prah tok say Mary na ogbonge inspiration for oda pipo. "Na determined woman, wey she always dey cheerful. We want make our oda patients look at Mary an kontinu to fight cancer," di doctor tok.

Di theme for dis year cancer day na 'united by unique' – wey begin one three-year-campaign to find different ways of cancer care wey dey focus on pipo and dia experience - and to find new ways to make a difference.

Dis na journey from how to dey raise awareness to how to take action.