Continued from yesterday

MYTH 16: My cervical screening was abnormal; vaccination can treat the problem. TRUTH: HPV vaccination helps to prevent pre-cancers and cancers of the cervix but does not treat HPV infection or the abnormal changes.

MYTH 17: Cervical cancer has no symptoms. TRUTH: While cervical cancer may show no symptoms at the early stage. Symptoms will occur later. These include bleeding after intercourse, bleeding between menstrual periods or bleeding after menopause. Other symptoms include an abnormal discharge or pain in the pelvic region. In 2012, a medical doctor came to the NCPP Centre with complaint of persistent vaginal discharge for which she had to be using panty liners. The discharge had persisted in spite of treatment with several medications. On evaluation, it turned out that she had cervical cancer. The lesson: not all vaginal discharge is “toilet infection.”

MYTH 18: If I am diagnosed with cervical cancer, I am going to die. TRUTH: Survival after cervical cancer caught in its earliest stage is 92 per cent. The later it is diagnosed, the lower the chance of survival. Survival is lower in developing countries because of inadequate screening. Regular screening will help ensure cervical cancer is caught at an early, treatable stage.

MYTH 19: After I finish treatment, I will live the rest of my life worried about cancer returning. TRUTH: In most cases early cervical cancer never returns, once it is properly treated. However, if cervical cancer is going to recur, it is most likely to happen in the first two years after treatment. The risk of recurrence is extremely low after five years following treatment. However, it is important to continue regular screening.

MYTH 20: I must have a hysterectomy (surgery that removes the cervix and womb) to treat cervical cancer. TRUTH: It is true that early cervical cancer is typically treated with a hysterectomy. However, it is not the only option. Radiation and chemotherapy are used to treat more advanced disease and may also be options for women with early stage disease who cannot have surgery. Some women with early cervical cancer can also avoid hysterectomy with procedures such as a cone biopsy that removes only the cancerous tissue and a small margin of surrounding healthy tissue, or a procedure called radical trachelectomy, which removes the cervix but not the uterus.

More importantly, all of these expensive and traumatic procedures can be avoided by regular screening to pick up the precancerous stage which could be treated with cryosurgery.

Unfortunately, even if our women are aware of all these truths, most of them cannot take action because of the lack of adequate facilities for screening, diagnosis and follow-up in Nigeria, particularly in rural areas. Obviously, there is an urgent need for a well-organised national system of cancer prevention that is accessible to all Nigerians.

To address this need, the National Cancer Prevention Programme (NCPP), a non-governmental initiative, pioneered community-based mass cervical cancer screening campaign in Nigeria, in 2007. Since then, over 100,000 Nigerians have been directly screened, vaccinated and treated so far, and through the awareness created, the NCPP is helping to protect millions of Nigerians from cancer.

This sacrificial effort has contributed to a 15 per cent reduction of cervical cancer deaths in Nigeria from 26 women dying daily to 22 daily between 2008 and 2012 (World Health Organisation data). The significance of this modest improvement is underlined by the fact that WHO had projected a 25 per cent increase in cervical cancer deaths within 10 years, in the absence of widespread intervention.

However, we can do much better than that! The improvement in cervical cancer survivorship in Nigeria is proof positive that we can beat Cancer, if we could scale up the effort.

The BIG WAR Against Cancer is the current focus of Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy (CECP-Nigeria). It is designed to establish the infrastructure for efficient and effective cancer prevention and treatment in the country. The short-term goal of the BIG WAR is to acquire and deploy 37 Mobile Cancer Centres (MCC), one for each state and FCT, Abuja; these will take cancer prevention and early treatment to the grassroots, by energising the impact of NCPP. As a longer-term goal, the CECP is committed to spearheading the establishment of one Comprehensive Cancer Centre in each of Nigeria’s geopolitical zones.

According to the USA Network of Mobile Clinics, “The mobile clinic sector is an untapped resource for helping the nation reduce health disparities while improving care and saving healthcare costs.” A study by the Harvard Medical School found that for every dollar invested in the operation of the mobile clinic, $20 was saved in terms of management of chronic illnesses, avoided hospital visits and prevention of diseases.

A single MCC in a state of Nigeria could make a huge positive difference. That state would be divided into smaller units such that every community would be reached by the MCC at least once a year.

We cannot achieve this unless we ACT! (Attack Cancer sTogether!). Fortunately, two Nigerian philanthropists have already pledged to donate the first Mobile Cancer Centre. This is a clarion call for all Nigerians of goodwill to support this movement and prevent unnecessary cancer deaths of our beloved compatriots. Together, we can! Yes, I can!

• Concluded

• Dr. Nzelu (Executive Secretary, CECP-Nigeria) can be reached via [email protected] or [email protected].