Health officials have raised concern about the increasing numbers of Cervical Cancer cases among young women.
Doctors at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital say more than 3,000 women are diagnosed with Cervical Cancer yearly, and disturbingly, more than half of them die.
Speaking to Citi News on the sidelines of the Cervical Cancer Prevention Campaign Launch and Seminar held at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, the Head of the Reproduction Health Unit at the hospital, Dr. Fella Adoboe called on women to go for early screening, testing and vaccination as a preventative measure.
“Cervical cancer is now considered a preventable disease, so if we allow ourselves to get into that stage of advanced disease then it is a shame on the country. From studies done here in Korle Bu, over 3000 plus women are diagnosed annually and more than half of them die. Unfortunately, a very high percentage of the women come with the advanced stage of the disease when this can be avoided by simple testing or screening and vaccination. My advice to Ghanaian women is to take cervical cancer seriously, ” he said.
According to the Obstetrician gynaecologists, a lot of women die of cervical cancer due to late detection.
It is reported that in every five hours at least one woman dies of cervical cancer.
Cervical cancer remains the leading cause of death in women in Ghana.
Cervical cancer is cancer that occurs in the cervix. It is due to the abnormal growth of cells that have the ability to invade or spread to other parts of the body.
Typically no symptoms are seen at the early stages of the disease. Later symptoms may include abnormal vaginal bleeding, pelvic pain, or pain during sexual intercourse.
There have been suggestions by health officials to include cervical cancer screening to the NHIS to help curb cervical cancer since a lot of women may not be able to afford the cost of screening
This year’s world cervical day is marked by providing a discount on Pap smear test at the Korle Bu hospital for GHc80 instead of GHc150.
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By: Farida Yusif | citinewsroom.com | Ghana
