DOH encourages women to undergo free cervical cancer screening

CEBU, Philippines - The Department of Health is urging all women aged 25 to 50 to undergo free cervical cancer screening in at least 58 DOH hospitals.

This is in line with the celebration of Cervical Cancer Awareness Month spearheaded by DOH and various medical societies.

Eduardo J. Aboitiz Cancer Center (EJACC) program coordinator Ronald delos Reyes said cervical cancer remains the second most leading cancer which causes death among women in the country, following breast cancer.

This is why the month of May has been officially declared as “Cervical Cancer Prevention Awareness Month in the Philippines”.

The free cervical cancer screenings are available this month every Wednesday in Metro Manila, every Friday in Luzon, every Tuesday in Visayas and every Thursday in Mindanao.

Based on DOH records, there are 7, 277 new cases and 3,087 deaths due to cervical cancer every year.

“In 1993-1997, among the 181 women diagnosed of cervical cancer in Metro Cebu, 93 died. In 1998-2002, 185 deaths among the 353 cases were reported. In 2003-2007, there were 162 deaths out of the 311 cases,” delos Reyes said.

According to EJACC, a Cebu-based cancer registry center, cervical cancer can primarily be prevented by human pappilomavirus (HPV) vaccination. Other preventive measures include regular cervical screening, annually or as advised by the OB/GYN, and HPV testing.

Women in their 20s should have a pap smear every two years, and women in their thirties who have had three consecutive normal pap smears should undergo screening every three years.

Women ages 65 to 70, who have had three consecutive normal pap smear results and no abnormal findings in 10 years, can discontinue screenings altogether if they choose.

“Both HPV testing and pap smear are the most effective ways of detecting and preventing possible cervical malignancy,” delos Reyes said.

Another important step in prevention, is knowing that there are a lot of lifestyle and health-related factors that may cause cervical cancer, such as sex at a young age, multiple sex partners, promiscuous male partners, history of sexually transmitted disease, smoking, and use of oral contraceptive pills for more than five years, delos Reyes explained.

EJACC information brochures include these health advises for women to limit their sexual partners to lessen the transmission of HPV.

The sexually active males should use condoms to avoid transmission of HPV and STDs. Smokers are urged to stop and nonsmokers to avoid secondhand smoking.

The Metro Cebu Population-Based Cancer Registry records reveal cervical cancer as among the top five most common types of cancer among women with those between ages 35 to 64 as the ones most likely to be diagnosed with cervical cancer.

Cervical cancer is a disease affecting the cervix, which is located in the lower narrow part of the uterus or the womb where the baby grows during pregnancy.

Common signs and symptoms of cervical cancer includes abnormal vaginal bleeding, serosanguinous discharge with a fishy odor, pelvic pain, and bowel and bladder frequency changes.  (FREEMAN)