[afro-nets] September is Cervical Cancer Awareness month

[A. Odutola <chpss_abo2@yahoo.com>]

September is Cervical Cancer Awareness month
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September is Cervical Cancer Awareness month world-wide and you
can help in raising awareness about this reasonably preventable
and treatable condition in your community.

Cervical cancer is a disease characterized by abnormal prolif-
eration of cells lining the mouth of the womb. Its exact cause
is unknown but there is a strong association with the Human
Papilloma Virus (HPV) - a sexually transmitted disease. Presen-
tation is commonly late in African communities and the condition
is a common cause of severe and irregular vaginal bleeding espe-
cially after sex. It may also present as a cause of lower ab-
dominal pain and/or foul vaginal discharge. In very early cases,
there may be no complaints at all and the condition is picked up
during routine screening.

Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer (malignancy)
after breast cancer afflicting women in Africa. Although its de-
tailed community features (epidemiology) is scantily known in
most African countries except may be South Africa, hospital data
and data from the National Cancer Registry in Ibadan, Nigeria
for example indicate that cervical cancer is the commonest can-
cer of the female reproductive tract, and accounts for 21.3% of
all female malignancies generally. About 5-6 new cases of cervi-
cal cancers are seen every week in hospitals in and around
Ibadan, Nigeria and it is the cause of death in 1 of 6 women
above age 45 years.

Visit http://www.datelinehealth-africa.net/betav1.0 for links to
relevant background resources on this subject and help to pro-
mote cervical cancer awareness throughout Africa.

A. Odutola
mailto:chpss_abo2@yahoo.com