Life cannot be quantified, cervical cancer screening is a must – IMaH Medical Officer

“Life cannot be quantified,” Dr. Mrs. Anita Owusu-Afriyie, a Medical Officer in the Oncology Unit of the International Maritime Hospital (IMaH) in Tema, has stated and called on women not to use the cost of screening as an excuse and shy away from cervical cancer screening.

Dr. Mrs. Owusu-Afriyie, therefore, advises women aged 21 and older to undergo cervical and Human Papillomavirus (HPV) screenings for early detection, as cervical cancer is a killer but early detection would save lives.

“The HPV could be contracted through any form of sex, vaginal, anal, or oral, as well as through an affected penis or vulva,” Dr. Mrs. Owusu-Afriyie said during her interaction with officials of the Communication for Development and Advocacy Consult (CDA Consult) in Tema.

The CDA Consult, which is a development communication advocacy non-governmental organization, is rallying stakeholders towards a relentless national advocacy campaign to battle cervical cancer.

It aims to bring together health professionals, human rights advocates, gender activists, religious adherents, and communication practitioners to embark on a new model of advocacy.

Dr. Mrs Owusu-Afriyie said untreated warts could also lead to cervical and penile cancers; therefore, any detection of warts on the private part must be taken seriously and reported for treatment at the hospital.

She added that the cancer could spread to other organs of the body, such as the spine, lungs, and liver, among others.

The Medical Officer, therefore, encouraged women to examine their vulva when bathing to identify early if any wart starts growing there to report.

Dr. Mrs. Owusu-Afriyie added that other symptoms include painful sex, post-coital bleeding, spotting in between menses, and offensive vaginal discharges.

“Screening is less expensive as compared to the cost of treatment if one fails to undergo screening, which most often leads to early detection and prevention,” she reiterated.

Mr. Francis Ameyibor, Executive Director, CDA Consult, noted that studies indicate that lack of knowledge about cervical cancer among Ghanaians has served as a barrier to cervical cancer screening, hence the urgent need to scale up advocacy and public awareness about cervical cancer vaccination, prevention, screening, diagnosis, and treatment.

“Though cervical cancer is usually prevented, long-term screening and treatment are required for success. Many low-resource areas lack screening and treatment services due to a lack of government support.

“Our vision is to scale up the advocacy campaign for cervical cancer vaccination to be administered free and to hold public education across the 16 regions of Ghana to educate the public, particularly women, on the importance of vaccination,” he said.

Mr. Ameyibor noted that, as part of the advocacy, CDA Consult will collaborate with health professionals and institutions for the establishment of the Cervical Cancer Prevention and Training Centre (CCPTC) to train and equip middle cadre workers (mostly nurses and midwives) to deliver critical cervical precancer screening and treatment services in many areas of the country where no such screening activities have previously occurred.

He commended the Eastern Regional Directorate of the National Commission for Civic Education and the National Insurance Commission, through whose support “The Eastern Region Must Rise against Cervical Cancer” was launched recently.

Mr Ameyibor called for stakeholders to support public advocacy to save lives: “We must encourage all, especially women, to participate in screening.”.

He also appealed to corporate bodies and public and private institutions to support and organize free breast cancer screening for their staff as a way of promoting holistic health among workers.