- Title: NIGERIA: Free cervical cancer screening offered to women in Lagos
- Date: 4th February 2011
- Summary: LAGOS, NIGERIA (JANUARY 28, 2011) (REUTERS) WOMAN WALKING INTO THE SCREENING CENTER SIGN READING: FREE CERVICAL CANCER SCREENING FOR WOMEN VARIOUS OF DOCTOR TAKING TO PATIENT LEAFLETS ABOUT CERVICAL CANCER SCREENING (SOUNDBITE) (English) DR MATILDA KERRY, FOUNDER OF THE GEORGE KERRY LIFE FOUNDATION SAYING: "Annually we have deaths of about 8,000 and above women and the statistic. Even at 8,000 it's pretty low because we know not every woman in Nigeria presents to the hospital or comes for medical treatment. So there are a lot of losses that we aren't recording in the hospitals, but according to hospital records, we have about 8,000 Nigerian women dying annually from the cancer of the cervix, that's about a woman every hour and you can see its still quite a huge number." VARIOUS OF SCREENING NURSE PREPARING INSTRUMENTS (SOUNDBITE) (English) AJIBOYETUNDE, SCREENING NURSE SAYING: "The process is called visual inspection with acetic acid. We use acetic acid to see, after diluting, to see what is going on there. Naturally the cervix is supposed to be pink in colour but once you apply the reagent and it starts turning white, when we see white patches like something you can scrape off, then that means there is something wrong with the cervix." VARIOUS OF PATIENT TALKING TO SCREENING NURSE (SOUNDBITE) (English) AJIBOYE ETUNDE, SCREENING NURSE SAYING: "You don't feel anything unless it has gotten to the last stage, because, that is why it is so deadly and women have to really be conscious of their health. That is why we are advocating that every woman should go for it, since it is the only cancer that is preventable and I don't think any woman should die of it." VARIOUS OF PATIENTS AND STAFF IN CLINIC WAITING ROOM (SOUNDBITE) (English) AKOREDE TERESA, PATIENT SAYING: "I have been hearing from people that cancer is a very bad disease that causes some bad life to human beings, so it is good to check up and know whether you have it or not, so that the earlier the better, you treat yourself for it." NURSE WRITING DOWN NAMES AT THE SCREENING CENTRE WOMAN LEAVING CLINIC
- Embargoed: 19th February 2011 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Nigeria, Nigeria
- Country: Nigeria
- Topics: Health
- Reuters ID: LVADMVNCYN537POELCY83TNWK18B
- Story Text: Women in Nigeria's commercial capital Lagos are being offered free cervical cancer screening in an effort to raise awareness of the preventable disease.
At the George Kerry Life Foundation, a centre specialising in women's health, women are being encouraged to drop in at any time to get tested and pick up information on early detection of the disease.
According to data collected by the ministry of health, over 8,000 women die of cervical cancer a year in Nigeria. However doctors suspect the number is even higher especially in rural areas where women lack basic health facilities and it often goes undiagnosed.
"Annually we have deaths of about 8,000 and above women and the statistics, even 8,000 is pretty low because we know not every woman in Nigeria presents to the hospital or comes for medical treatment. So there are a lot of losses that we aren't recording in the hospitals, but according to hospital records, we have about 8,000 Nigerian women dying annually from the cancer of the cervix, that's about a woman every hour and you can see it's still quite a huge number," said Dr Kerry, the founder of the George Kerry clinic.
Screening takes no more than a few minutes and involves a simple vaginal examination with the use of a harmless chemical to help highlight abnormal cell growth on the cervical wall, which could indicate cancer.
"The process is called visual inspection with acetic acid. We use acetic acid to see, after diluting, to see what is going on there. Naturally the cervix is supposed to be pink in colour but once you apply the re-agent and it starts turning white, when we see white patches like something you can scrape off, then that means there is something wrong with the cervix," said Yetunde Ajiboye, the screening nurse at the clinic.
Ajiboye talks to each of the patients before carrying out the test to encourage them to have regular check ups and tell them to pass the knowledge on to their friends so they also come in for a screening.
The problem, she says, is that the disease can go completely undetected often until it's too late for treatment.
"You don't feel anything unless it has gotten to the last stage, because, that is why it is so deadly and women have to really be conscious of their health. That is why we are advocating that every woman should go for it, since it is the only cancer that is preventable and I don't think any woman should die of it, since it is preventable," Ajiboye said.
Word of the free screenings has spread fast and women of all ages have been dropping in to get the tests, often in a lunch break or on the way to or from work.
For some of the older women like Theresa Akorede, it is the first time they have ever been screened.
"I have been hearing from people that cancer is a very bad disease that causes some bad life to human beings, so it is good to check up and know whether you have it or not, so that the earlier the better, you treat yourself for it," Akorede said.
Although the current programme has been limited to clinics in the Lagos area Dr Kerry and her colleagues are hoping to broaden their reach to other regions soon.
With am impressive number of women already taking advantage of the scheme in the capital, they have high hopes the project could have serious and long-term benefits for women's health in Nigeria as a whole. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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