Featured, Health
By Benprince Ezeh
THE International Cancer Control, UICC, and the entire global community celebrate the World Cancer Day on February 4, each year to rally the international community to the plight of patients suffering from cancer and strive to find enduring solution and cure of cancer.
This year’s theme, “I can, we can” acknowledges that everyone has the capacity to address the cancer burden. We can work together to reduce cancer risk factors. We can overcome barriers to early diagnosis, treatment and palliative care. We can work together to improve cancer control and achieve global targets to reduce premature mortality from cancer.”
According to World Health Organisation, WHO, cervical cancer is the fourth most frequent cancer in women with an estimated 570,000 new cases in 2019 representing 6.6% of all female cancers. Approximately 90% of deaths from cervical cancer occurred in low and middle income countries.
However, the high mortality rate from cervical cancer globally can be reduced through a comprehensive approach that includes prevention, early diagnosis, effective screening and treatment programmes.
According to recent statistics, more than 8,000 of the 14,000 Nigerian women diagnosed with cervical cancer are at the risk of death annually.
Speaking on the high mortality rate from cervical cancer, Felicita Ogbu, a medical doctor told Realnews in Lagos that cervical cancer kills faster than AIDs in women. “Women should look out for signs and symptoms like irregular, intermenstrual (between periods) or abnormal vaginal bleeding after sexual intercourse, back, leg or pelvic pain, fatigue, weight loss, loss of appetite, vaginal discomfort or odourous discharge, and a single swollen leg.
“It can be cured when dictated early, but as we all know in Nigeria, women barely disclose infections, especially the ones concerned with their genital organs,” she said.
But Maxwell Odiegwu, a gynecologist, advised young girls to embrace vaccination against cervical cancer early in life. “It is better for young girls to go for vaccines early in life to proffer immunity against cancer. These vaccines will go a long way in preventing cervical cancer in the body, this type of cancer is real and it kills.
According to him, 300,000 women around the globe died from cervical cancer in 2015 alone. “Young girls and women of reproductive age should go for regular cervical cancer Screening, “ he said.
Odiegwu urged women to embrace the use of condoms as cervical cancer could be contracted through unprotected sexual intercourse,” he said.
Meanwhile, many non-governmental organisations and some wives of state governors are working to enlighten women and young girls on the dangers of cervical cancer.
For instance, Monica Ugwuanyi, wife of Enugu State Governor donated cervical cancer screening machines to the Enugu State University of Technology Teaching Hospital, ESUT, to assist in early detection and treatment of the disease.
Speaking while inaugurating the screening centre at the hospital renovated and furnished by her pet-project, Ugo Touch of Life Foundation, U-TOLF, in May, Ugwuanyi described cervical cancer as a dreaded disease that has claimed the lives of many women.
She explained that the screening machines, which were donated to the centre by her foundation, were born out of the desire to assist women, especially the indigent ones with a view to curbing the ailment. “My pet-project decided to donate the equipment to ESUT Teaching Hospital, Parklane, because of its capacity to take care of the equipment, and that many people are eager to assist us.
“We urge the hospital management to take care of the machines, that in no distant time, more items will be added,” she said.
Likewise, Jide Akeredolu, 39th District Governor for 2019-2020 Rotary year, said in Lagos that more than 40 women were being diagnosed for cervical cancer. “The disease has become so deadly that one woman dies of it every 55 minutes.
“If young girls are immunised against the disease before they attain the age of puberty, it would prevent them from ever contracting it,” he said.
According to Akeredolu, it’s because of this that Rotary District 9110 is working towards raising money to vaccinate 10,000 Nigerian girls below the age of puberty. “Cervical cancer vaccines are expensive, it would cost more than N200 million to achieve it,” he said.
-Sep 28, 2019 @13:04 GMT |
Tags: Stakeholders advocate vaccination to check high rate of Cervical Cancer in women
