{UAH} Mulago overwhelmed by cervical cancer cases
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5:28 AM |
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Mulago overwhelmed by cervical cancer cases
Written by Uganda Radio Network
Uganda Cancer InstituteThe number of cervical cancer patients reporting at Mulago national referral hospital is unmatched by the facilities at the Uganda Cancer Institute.
Dr Judith Ajeani, a gynecologist based at Mulago, said they record three new cases of cervical cancer every day. In the month of April alone, she said, Mulago hospital registered more than 150 cases of cervical cancer. Among these, 80% have late-stage cancer, which requires regular blood transfusion and these are likely to stay in the hospital for more than one month.
According to Dr Ajeani, Mulago hospital often fails to provide blood for this big number of patients. Ministry of Health statistics indicate that cervical cancer is the most frequent cancer affecting women in Uganda, with incidence rates three times the global average. Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the leading cause of cervical cancer among girls aged between the ages of 13 to 25 in Uganda.
An estimated 3,500 women in Uganda were diagnosed with cervical cancer in 2012, 2,275 of whom died from the disease. According to Dr Ajeani, sexually-active women are at a higher risk of contracting the disease. She noted that having multiple sexual partners increases the risk of contracting the HPV virus.
Ajeani further said that the trend has been worsened by the fact that treatment of the disease is very expensive in private health facilities and very few women go to health centers for cancer screening.
Dr Ajeani noted that screening and treatment of the human papillomavirus ranges between Shs 30,000 and Shs 300,000, depending on where the patient goes.
She added that women with early cervical cancer and pre-cancer symptoms often do not report until much later. She advised women to look out for symptoms such as abnormal vaginal bleeding, especially after sex, bleeding after menopause, bleeding and spotting between periods, and having longer or heavier (menstrual) periods than usual.
Dr Ajeani encouraged women to undergo cancer screening before it is too late. According to the programme manager, Uganda National Expanded Programme on Immunization (UNEPI) in the ministry of health, Dr Robert Mayanja, the ministry has conducted pilot projects on the vaccination of the HPV in 14 districts.
Dr Mayanja said following the success of the pilot programme, government secured funding from GAVI worth over Shs 4bn last month to vaccinate all girls between the age of 13 and 20 years against the HPV virus.
The World Health Organization estimates that only about five per cent of women in the developing world have been screened for cervical cancer in the last five years compared to 75 per cent in the developed world.
Approximately 500,000 women develop cervical cancer annually around the world, with about 85 per cent of cases occurring in developing countries. Cervical cancer is considered the third most common cancer found in women.
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