Women in Punjab are in Dire Need of Awareness Initiatives Related to Cervical Cancer and its Screening Tests

Abstract

Cervical cancer is the third most common cancer and the fourth dominant cause of cancer related death in women throughout the globe. Eighty percent of cases occur in the developing nations1,2. The extent of this cancer is tough to be evaluated in Pakistanbecause of differing insufficient epidemiological figures obtainable in small scale studies, dealing only reported limited number of cases which are not representative of its true burden3,4,5. As stated by World Health Organization, in 2002, the pervasiveness of cervical cancer in Pakistan was 9 in 100,000; in 2008 it jumped up to 19.5/100,000. Claimed by various studies, this cancer is among the list of first ten frequent cancers in Pakistan6,7,8,9. It is one of the most avoidable cancers nowadays and we have all the tools to eradicate it, still the number of lives lost due to cervical cancer is very high in Pakistan as it is an ignored ailment here in terms of screening, prevention and vaccination9. Economically developed countries who invested capitals for organized screening projects have made notable progress in reducing both occurrence and mortality due to this specific cancer10. The out of proportion load of cervical cancer in developing countries is largely attributable to scarcity of functional screening projects11. In our over 500 bedded teaching hospital with a well running gynecology outdoor, we do receive cervical biopsies positive for invasive malignancies but hardly receive any Pap smear tests in laboratory that prompted us to check for cervical cancer screening especially Pap smear test related awareness among our non-medical ladies.As the foundation of cervical cancer eradication is screening and prevention, each country and its regions must device an elimination plan that fits into its own culture and geographic landscape. Keywords: perception and understanding of existing screening tests, preventive measures, cervical cancer