Tema, – Women aged 21 years old and above have been advised to undergo a cervical and Human Papillomavirus (HPV) screening for cervical cancer as early detection save lives.
Dr. Mrs. Anita Owusu-Afriyie, a Medical Officer in the Oncology Unit of the International Maritime Hospital (IMaH) said most women shy away from cervical cancer screening using cost as an excuse.
She noted that “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 the worse can happen.”
Dr. Mrs. Owusu-Afriyie, gave the caution at the second “Your Health! Our Concern! a Ghana News Agency Tema Regional Office initiative that seeks to set the medium for the propagation of health information to influence personal health choices by improving health literacy.
“Your Health! Our Concern! is a public health advocacy platform initiated by the Ghana News Agency Tema Regional Office to explore the parameters of the four approaches to health communication: informative, educating, persuasive, and prompting.
Dr Mrs Owusu-Afriyie explained that whereas paying for about GHs500 to get the two sets of tests done and subsequently get a vaccination if tested negative to protect themselves, waiting, and getting symptoms before reporting to the hospital would attract a series of tests, plus treatment which would cost several times more than the screening.
Speaking on “Female Cancers- Cervical Cancer,” she said cervical cancer was preventable, therefore, the need to screen early adding that “all those who report to the hospital with symptoms already have advanced stage of the cancer; all pre-cancer cells detection are seen through screening.”
The Medical Officer explained that due to the position of the cervix, which is at the mouth of the womb, and serve as the link between the uterus and the vagina it is difficult to detect any abnormal happenings there without being screened for it.
She said due to its position and the inability to pick up issues related to it without a medical screening, it was the most killer of women compared in Ghana compared to breast cancer.
She said statistics form the HPV centre indicated that every year a total of 2,797 women were diagnosed with cervical cancer, and 1,699 died from it.
Dr Mrs Owusu-Afriyie said the HPV could be contracted through any form of sex, vaginal, anal, and oral as well as an affected penis or vulva.
She 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 the 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.
Mr. Francis Ameyibor, Ghana News Agency Tema Regional Manager noted that GNA-Your Health! Our Concern! is a weekly health dialogue platform to serve as an effective communication channel for health professionals to educate the public on healthy practices and other general health challenges
Source: Ghana News Agency