From Bode Durojaiye,Oyo.
Cervical cancer is one of the common cancers of the female reproductive system.
It is a disease in which cells of the cervix, the lower part of the uterus and the adjoining vagina, become cancerous (malignant).
It is usually a slow-growing cancer that may not have symptoms initially, but can be detected with regular screening by Pap tests (a procedure in which cells are scraped from the cervix and viewed under a microscope) and detection of HPV (Human Papillioma Virus).
Most cervical cancers are linked to infection by HPV. Approximately, 80% of cervical cancers are squamous cell carcinomas, which arise from cells in the exocervix (the outer portion of cervix), while about 15 per cent are adenocarcinomas, which arise from a different type of cell
in the endocervix (the inner portion of cervix).
But how much awareness do women have to screen against this disease regularly and not to wait for symptoms before seeing a doctor?
Disturbed about this ignorance and the need to save women from the dreaded terminal disease, a National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) member and medical practitioner, Dr. Ohize Stephen Ogirima, embarked on community sensitisation, free screening and treatment, as well as capacity building training for Local Government health workers on cervical cancer.
Dr. Ogirima with NYSC batch number OY/14C/1776 is serving at the Oyo-East Local Government.
Under the community development project, Dr. Ogirima with the support of his few colleagues known as NYSC VANGUARD set the ball rolling by commencing sensitisation of residents in the four local governments’
areas (Afijio, Atiba, Oyo-East and Oyo-West) that constitute Oyo metropolis.
Thereafter, he established two screening centres for cervical cancer at the Primary Health Centre, Araromi and the Ajayi Crowther University, both in Oyo town.
At the centres, about 500 women benefitted from a three-day
free cervical cancer screening outreach from medical expert who came from the Planned Parenthood Federation of Nigeria (PPFN) and experts from the Gynaecology and Oncology Unit of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife , Osun State.
To ensure sustainability, both the State Hospital and the Ajayi
Crowther University in the ancient town were made to sign an agreement to work with PPFN to ensure continuity and accept the revolving fund scheme system for the low-cost cervical cancer screening units to be established and the training of seven workers across health facilities in the ancient town.
While the two institutions have made available two staffers each for training on visual inspection methods and preparation of a Pap Smear Slide, the Oyo-East Local Government gave approval for the use of the Primary Health Centre at Araromi for outreach and training of staff.
The project initiator, Dr. Ogirima, said when
the disease progresses, women may notice one or more of these symptoms: abnormal vaginal bleeding, bleeding that occurs between regular menstrual periods, bleeding after sexual intercourse, douching or a pelvic exam, as well as menstrual periods that last longer and are heavier than usual.
Others, according to him, include bleeding after menopause, increased vaginal discharge, pelvic pain and pain during sexual intercourse.
“Cervical screening is a way of diagnosing the disease at an early pre-cancerous stage and preventing cervical cancer from developing. Screening tests look for pre-cancerous changes in the cells of the cervix that could develop into cancer. The tests can also diagnose the disease by identifying cancer cells that are already present. If the abnormal tissue or cells can be removed, then the disease can be prevented from progressing further into cancer. With recent advances, screening today shows the ability to test for the presence of HPV infected
cells that have shown to largely contribute to this type of cancer. With successful screening for the past several decades, the number of women diagnosed each year with cervical cancer has been decreasing.’’
He explained that while organised and quality assured cytology-based screening programmes have substantially reduced cervical cancer incidence in many developed countries, successfully organised population-based cancer screening programmes are yet to be implemented
in developing countries, including Nigeria, despite having the greater burden of the terminal disease.
Limitations, the medical practitioner noted, are largely related to limited human and financial resources, competing health needs, poorly developed healthcare services, uninformed and disempowered female population, widespread poverty and the cumbersome nature of the prevailing cytology-based screening programmes.
Dr. Ogirima advocated the provision of a feasible and practicable approach to screening, in line with the recommendation of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) with the set goal of overcoming our local limitations.
“These include bureaucratic bottlenecks, supply of quality assured consumables, non-availability of a call and recall system, as well as poor statistics on screening coverage. With appropriate planning and implementation, an organised and quality-assured screening service is possible, even in a low-resource setting.’’
