Accra, June 24, GNA - The management of Rabito Clinic, a private Dermatology Hospital in Accra, on Friday began a three-day free screening cervical cancer as part of a prevention campaign for women.
The exercise dubbed: 93One Day Stop Cervical Cancer" started last year August when group of renowned dermatologist surgeons volunteered to join their local counterparts to undertake the exercise.
A Colposopy, an instrument used to detect the cancer at the cervix and any person who is affected with low or high grade infection.
Any person with low grade is vaporised and treated immediately.
It was being undertaken in collaboration with Fondazione Donna a Milano Onlus, an Italian NGO, the Ministry of Health and a team of gynecologists, midwives and nurses, who would offer tests and immediate therapy.
The test takes few minutes for a woman to be screened and the results determined.
Dr Alberto Agarossi, Italian Gynecologist speaking to the Ghana News Agency, said cervical cancer was the second most common cause of death after breast cancer resulting from a history of persistent infection by high risk of a virus called Human Papilloma Virus (HPV).
He said the disease occurred in developing countries because of the inadequacy of equipment to detect it and in countries where screening was frequently conducted had its death rate reduced to 60 per cent.
Dr Agarossi said the objective of the exercise was to begin a technique in Ghana to know the high and low grade system of the disease in women, educate people on prevention and the outcome would be elaborated to support new prevention strategies.
He explained that the grading system would determine the number of women being affected with the disease and treated immediately to eliminate it.
Dr Agarossi said women who tested negative had no risk to cervical cancer and were safe for 10 to 15 years.
Dr Mahamadu Mbiniwaya, Medical Director, Prestea Government Hospital said causes of cervical cancer include regular and early sex and mostly affected people were commercial sex workers.
He said most women report very late to the hospital when they begun having complications and because the instrument was not available in Ghana the disease could not be detected.
Dr Mbiniwaya noted that Western Countries had low incidence due to the availability of pup smear used to check the HPV with the most six and 18 serotype.
He appealed to government to provide the instrument in the major hospitals to determine the disease at an early stage and treated as possible.
Mrs Mary Amidu, a facilitator of the exercise, said the screening could not be totally free due to lack of financial support for the equipment and drugs and therefore needed support from government.
She called on Parliamentarians to enact a law to add cervical cancer screening to the free antenatal care for more women.
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