13th November, 2012
Recently, the National Governing Body of Inner Wheel Club in Nigeria held a workshop to draw attention to cervical cancer, a deadly disease that is ravaging the womenfolk in the country.
Experts in maternal healthcare at the workshop also tasked the country’s health managers to give priority to measures that will stem the disease which has been identified as the number one killer of women in the country.
Revelations at the workshop included the fact that more than 70 percent of cancer deaths in Nigeria occur in the low income communities. Many women, especially those above the age of 30, were reported to have lost their lives to cervical cancer than to any other type of cancer.
Cervical Cancer, according to the experts is cancer of the entrance to the uterus (womb) and is reported to be the deadliest of cancer diseases affecting women. It is also called cancer of the cervix.
The experts called on governments at all levels to take the issue seriously by doing everything possible to reduce deaths among women due to cervical cancer.
We want to join these experts to appeal to those at the helm of our healthcare to heed the pleas of these concerned experts. We are joining the campaign because we realise the important role of women in our society. We also subscribe to the saying that when you train a woman, you train a nation. So, it is our contention that anything that will decimate the number of our women in their productive age should be checked.
Since cervical cancer can be checked if detected and treated early, we are calling on governments at all levels to set up cervical cancer screening centres in all health facilities for early detection and treatment of the disease. These centres should be manned by professionals knowledgeable in the treatment and prevention of the killer disease.
Attention should be concentrated in low income communities with a view to nipping in the bud the manifestation of this disease at the early stage.
Government and health providers should also launch an enlightenment campaign in the mass media to educate young women on the dangers of cervical cancer and what should be done to prevent it.
Advocacy groups should be empowered to organise workshops and seminars to sensitise women on the causes of the disease and what should be done to prevent it.
Hospitals throughout the country should also be made to display signs of cervical cancer treatment on their entrances to create awareness that the disease can be treated there.