Women encouraged to undergo cervical cancer tests for early detection

Mrs Cecilia Ankomah, a Principal Nursing Officer in charge of the Ashaiman Polyclinic’s Wellness Clinic, has reiterated the call on women to regularly take cervical cancer tests for early diagnosis.

Mrs Ankomah, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA), said early diagnosis makes a lot of difference in treatment, as the initiation of treatment could start before the cancer advances and becomes complicated.

She said that depending on the stage of cervical cancer, treatment could include the removal of the uterus, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy.

She noted that regular Pap smears and HPV tests could help detect cervical cancer early, explaining that Cervical cancer, she noted, was a malignant tumour of the cervix, which was the lowermost part of the uterus.

She said cervical cancer did not usually show symptoms at the very early stages, adding that the first signs of cervical cancer might take years to develop.

The principal nursing officer added that cervical cancer was caused by the human papilloma virus (HPV), which was transmitted sexually.

She said women at risk of contracting cervical cancer were those who started sexual activities at a younger age, especially before the age of 18.

Another risk factor, she said, was having multiple sexual partners and those infected by the Human Immunodeficiency Virus, as they had a suppressed immune system.

Mrs Ankomah further said that having a family history of cancer and engaging in smoking could also serve as risk factors for getting cervical cancer.

She said when the cancer is advanced, patients could experience painful sexual intercourse, vaginal bleeding after intercourse or after menopause, foul-smelling watery or bloody vaginal discharge, and heavier menstrual periods that might last longer than usual.

She stated that to avoid going through the pain and financial burden of having cervical cancer, all sexually active women must have a pap smear every two to three years for early detection.

She said the Ashaiman Polyclinic, as part of measures to promote testing, provided free testing for all women at its family planning unit during the one-month-long cervical cancer awareness