Mrs. Helen Onwudiwe, the Head of Cervical Cancer Unit, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu Teaching Hospital, has urged women of adult age to develop the habit of going for cervical cancer screening regularly.
According to her, about 1/3 of the women population who go for cervical cancer screening, do so on referral level, as no one comes forward voluntarily for the screening, which is not good enough. She said that cervical cancer could be prevented through regular screening to identify abnormal changes in the cells of the cervix at an early stage.
She added that “there is a high rate of ignorance among women within the age bracket of 25 to 50 years, who are supposed to be the beneficiaries of such medical care.
“The fear of knowing they are positive also reduces the idea of conducting the test, but it is safer to know one’s status than living in ignorance”.
“There is a vaccine to prevent the disease but women need to visit the hospital to gain information on how to live right and take care of their body to avoid untimely death.”
Mrs. Onwudiwe further advised women not to wait for a doctor to refer them before doing cancer tests, saying they should take their lives in their hands by doing medical check-ups regularly.