Fight Against Cervical Cancer

Ever since I became a part of FACC, it has become a daily habit to scan the newspapers and the internet to find out if there has been anything written or discussed about cervical cancer. The last few weeks has seen a steady flow of articles/tips/stories on cervical cancer. It looks like the word is finally out on the big C. Just a few quotes from some of these articles:
“Even though the doctor had told me it was completely curable, the word cancer has some stigma attached to it”- Sunaina Roshan, cervical cancer survivor to India Today Woman.
“In India alone, eight women die every hour due to cervical cancer. Around 27 per cent of female cancer patients suffer from cervical cancer”- Dr. Leela Bhagavan to the Deccan Chronicle.
“While in recent years, India has made tremendous economic progress, there is one area where it still lags woefully behind. I refer here to the incidence of cancer of the uterine-cervix or cervical cancer. In fact, we have the dubious distinction of outstripping any other country when it comes to the number of cases of this type of cancer (132,000 new cases are reported every year and around 74,000 women die annually of it)” - Harmala Gupta, Founder CanSupport, in The Hindustan Times.
“Many a time, women are shy or afraid to come forward even they have problems related to HPV. Further, lack of awareness of the disease is another problem to prevent the disease in early stage, though it is one of the most common illnesses faced by the women in India. The NGOs and government should work on spreading awareness about tests like Pap Screening”- Dr. Gagan Saini, Oncologist, to Pharmabiz.com
“Survival after cervical cancer caught in its earliest stage is 92 per cent. Regular screening can help ensure it is caught at an early and treatable stage”- A Times Wellness Column article.
“Simple test could cut cancer deaths in poor nations”-Reuters
”Mandy Moore joins fight against cancer”-Dailytimes.com
To keep the word on cervical cancer spreading, I urge every woman out there to spend a mere 10 minutes visiting their gynaecologist and getting a pap test done and recommend it to your family and friends as well..you never know who might be next!

Contributed by: Mayurakshi Barua, New Delhi

Cervical cancer is the most common cancer amongst women in India. The growing risk of this disease in the country is 2.4% compared to 1.3% of the world. Every hour, 10 women in South-East Asia lose their lives to this silent killer; of which 8 are Indians. The astounding fact is that 60% of women in the country have not even heard about cervical cancer! As a result, only a mere 5-6% take the diagnostic test for cervical cancer called Pap Smear. Given that Cervical Cancer is a disease where early detection is the key to survival, these figures sure ring an alarm bell.

The main underlying cause of cervical cancer is the human papillomavirus (HPV), a sexually transmitted and largely symptom less infection. A number of factors like early sexual advent and multiple sex partners increase the risk of cervical cancer by increasing the likelihood that a woman will contract an HPV infection. Several other factors influence whether women with abnormal cervical-cell changes go on to develop cancer. These include tobacco use, prolonged use of hormonal contraceptives, unhygienic living conditions and an impaired immune system.

Since 80% of the Indian population resides in the rural areas, women who fall in the economically backward strata are much more vulnerable to cervical cancer than their urban counterparts. Poor living conditions and low standards of health and hygiene in these areas expose these women to higher risks of this silent killer. Illiteracy, limited access to the television and internet has caused this particular section of women to be in the shadows about cervical cancer. Also, traditional taboos are a major reason for reluctance among rural women to seek medical assistance in gynecological matters. These reasons make it imperative that special attention be given to women in the rural areas.

This of course does not mean that the Indian urban woman is dwelling in conditions which bear a stronger protective shield from cervical cancer. Despite the technological and scientific advancements, the Indian society still remains greatly ignorant to a number of issues that call for immediate action. Sedentary lifestyles, increasing levels of alcohol and tobacco use by women and promiscuity are causes that are augmenting the number of cervical cancer cases in India.

The first mass screening programme for cervical cancer that is scheduled to begin in January in Bengal will hopefully generate the much needed awareness about this disease in the state. However, much more needs to be done to break through the ignorance that has blurred India against the impact of this silent killer. This is only possible when women as a whole come together to spread the word about the causes and the devastating effects of cervical cancer.

Post Contributor: Mayurakshi Barua, Delhi

Clock work and health check ups could be synonyms in the western world especially for women but not so in India and I often wonder why? Is it because we feel we are immortal or do we just not care enough about our health?

While my graduation, I was placed in US and it was during this phase that I realized the importance of routine medical check-ups. Annual health check ups were encouraged and a pap smear was a must. I spent about 10 years and each year there was a medical check up, there was no escape from this routine…

I still recall my first pap smear; I was a bit anxious of the procedure. My physician detailed out the Pap smear procedure and the importance of it. It was a simple test to check my cervical cells under the microscope for any changes. The Pap test can tell if you have an infection, abnormal (unhealthy) cells, or cancer. There was no pain involved whatsoever in the procedure and five minutes is it all it took.

When I returned to India it was a like a new country….every where I looked, there was something new….malls, flyovers, etc etc.

A year into settling back, I went for my annual medical check up and it was here that I saw the India I had grown up in. I walked in to the gynaecologist’s and told her I was here for a routine annual check up. She looked a bit surprised and she asked me a few questions and said ok you are fine; I was taken aback! I demanded a pap smear and the procedure was no different just that I had to be aggressive to get one.

I came back very distressed and checked with my friends if they had faced a similar situation. Most of them said no, as they had never visited one. It was during these conversations I discovered that in India regular health check ups are not a practice and gynaecologist visits are not considered important. I was told most women only consult OB-GYN when they contracted infections or incase they are were planning a family.

In India, healthcare is a matter of concern. India accounts for a shocking one in eight cervical cancer deaths in the world, there is little or no awareness about the disease.

We owe it to ourselves to live healthy, so please visit a gynaecologist and insist on a pap smear!

Post contributor: Abhijit Kaur, New Delhi