Approximately 10,000 Nigerian women will learn they have cervical cancer this year and this shouldn’t be because cervical cancer is 100% preventable through screening and vaccination. In a survey conducted by Sebeccly, it was reported that 60% of confirmed cervical cancer patients were not aware of the benefits of screening, neither did they know that with less than N50,000 they could have prevented as against treating their disease with radiotherapy, chemotherapy and surgery which costs above N500,000, with no guarantee of cure . With appropriate screening, no woman should develop cervical cancer let alone 10,000 Nigerian women.
On Thursday, October 12th, 2017, Sebeccly Cancer Care launched it’s #TimeToScreen program in partnership with ACT Foundation and Access Bank. Through this partnership we are providing free breast and cervical cancer screening to 500 female students(above 21 years old) and indigent women (minimum wage earners). As well as delivering affordable, quality, client-centered, timely and comprehensive breast and cervical cancer screening to the general public.
The #TimeToScreen screening services include Clinical Breast Examination, Visual Inspection with Acetic Acid(VIA) and Visual Inspection with Lugol’s Iodine(VILLI).The programme is equipped with state of the art equipment, which include colposcopy and cryotherapy machine that provides immediate treatment of cervical abnormalities (Stage 0 cervical cancer).
The importance of screening is that it can detect pre cancer stage (stage 0) and if treated promptly with cryotherapy etc, full blown cervical cancer (stage 1-4) can be prevented from developing. In less than 6 weeks of operations, we have screened over 300 women and detected and treated 4 cases of stage 0 cervical cancer. We are excited that we have prevented 4 cases of cervical cancer and we will continue to reduce morbidity and premature death amongst our women folks. As the saying goes, prevention is better than cure, it’s also cheaper and wiser than cure,” said Dr. Omolola Salako, Consultant Radiation Oncologist and Executive Director, Sebeccly Cancer Care.
To end the year right, we encourage individuals and women groups to contact us to schedule and attend a screening appointment. The #TimeToScreen clinic runs on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 10am-3pm. To book an individual or group appointment, click here or send an email to timetoscreen@sebecclycancercare.org
We invite you to donate and ensure that more women are living healthier and happier lives with their loved ones. Donate securely here.
Here are current guidelines for screening:
-Cervical Cancer Screening should begin once a woman is sexually active
-Cervical screening test should be done once a woman is 21 years of age, and is sexually active (Pap Smear or VIA or VILLI)
– Women who have had a total hysterectomy (removal of the uterus and cervix) do not need to undergo cervical cancer screening, unless the surgery was done as a treatment for cervical pre cancer or cancer.
