Cervical Cancer Alert!

Daily Guide

By Esther Awuah

DR. LYNDA Decker, a general practitioner at Franklyn Medical Services has revealed that the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), that causes Cancer of the cervix, can be contracted through an ordinary skin-to-skin contact like a handshake.

Even though she explained that the virus is spread through sexual intercourse, she was quick to add that it could be gotten from a mere handshake when a women shakes the hand of a carrier of HPV, then mistakenly inserts her fingers in her vagina due to certain activities she might engage in, then she can contract the virus.

She however noted that condoms are helpful preventive measures to acquiring the virus, but do not fully protect women from acquiring the HPV.

At a media training seminar organised by the Pharmaceutical Society of Ghana and Glaxo SmithKline in Accra, Dr. Decker said the disease which is the second most common cancer affecting women under 45 years, occurs when abnormal cells on the cervix which is located at the lower part of the uterus, grow out of control.

Throwing more light on HPV, she noted that there are about a 100 types HPV and just about 15 out of this figure causes the cancer whiles some of them cause genital warts.

She said even though the HPV can stay for years in the body without a woman noticing it, there is the need to have a regular Pap smear.

A Pap smear which she said is also known as the Pap test “is a procedure to test for cervical cancer in women. A Pap smear involves collecting cells from the cervix.”

She added that during a pap test the doctor scraps a small sample of cells from the surface of the cervix to look for cell changes.

She noted that if a Pap test shows abnormal cell changes, the doctor may do other tests to look for precancerous or cancer cells on the cervix.

Detecting these cells early with a Pap smear she emphasised, is the first step in halting the possible development of cervical cancer.

She however noted that after the test is done and the result is positive, an intensive treatment is conducted. But when the results are negative a patient is given a vaccine to prevent the virus from affection the cervix.

Touching briefly on the symptoms of cervical cancer, Dr. Decker stated that “abnormal cervical cell changes in the cervix rarely cause symptoms, but one may have symptoms if those cell changes grow into cervical cancer.”

Some of these symptoms, she said, may include: bleeding from the vagina that is not normal; bleeding when something comes in contact with the cervix, such as during sex or when a diaphragm is inserted; pain during sex; and vaginal discharge that is tingered with blood.

She said every sexually active woman is at risk of an infection from a cancer-causing HPV type throughout her lifetime.

She noted that it is estimated that up to 80 per cent of women will acquire a human papilloma virus infection by the age of 50, and up to 50 percent of these infections will be from a virus type which has the potential to cause cervical cancer.

She therefore advised that one of the ways to avoid getting the virus is to abstain from sex or practice safe sex, and limit the number of sexual partners.

She announced that the Pap test can be done at a few specialised hospitals like Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Ridge Hospital and a few private hospitals like Franklyn Medical Service, and the cost involved is between GH¢15 and GH¢20.

Globally, it is estimated that 500, 000 new cases of cervical cancer occur annually, 1,400 women are told that they have cervical cancer every day, and one woman dies from cervical cancer every two minutes.