– a peer education project with women in mind

THE Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights Adventures (SRHRA) in collaboration with the Ministry of Public Health, recently carried on a peer education project in an effort to encourage women who are 21 years and older to get involved in serious matters of their health and well-being.

The aim of this project was to raise awareness of the HPV vaccine and to encourage women to be screened for cervical cancer. While the Guyana Chronicle was not able to garner adequate statistics at this time, reliable reports are that cervical cancer is the second most common type of cancer in women and can affect women at any age.

The project was designed to educate the general public, especially women, on matters of HPV (the human papillomavirus), which they said come in more than 100 varieties.
Additionally, the project sought to promote the HPV vaccine, while informing the public about the seriousness of cervical cancer.
#ProtectYuhCervix was the title given to the project, deemed a success with many females approaching members of the team, which is made up of mostly young medical doctors, as well as other interested persons.

Members of the public in attendance, paying keen attention to what was being said to them

Varieties of HPV
The doctors informed the women in attendance that the HPV infection commonly causes skin or mucous membrane growths (warts) and that certain types of HPV infection can cause cervical cancers. There are more than 100 varieties of human papillomavirus (HPV) in existence.

They noted that different types of HPV infections cause warts on different parts of the body, for example, some types of HPV infections cause plantar warts on the feet, while others cause warts that mostly appear on the face or neck.

Most HPV infections, the women were informed, don’t lead to cancer. However, it was disclosed that some types of genital HPVs can cause cancer of the lower part of the uterus that connects to the vagina (cervix). Other types of cancers, including cancers of the anus, penis, vagina, vulva and back of the throat (oropharyngeal), have been linked to HPV infection.

HPV vaccines
The team informed the women that the vaccines can help protect them against the strains of genital HPV, which are most likely to cause genital warts or cervical cancer.

“While cervical cancer is cancer that starts in the cervix, the narrow opening into the uterus from the vagina, the normal ‘ectocervix’ (the portion of the uterus extending into the vagina) is a healthy pink colour and is covered with flat, thin cells called squamous cells and the ‘endocervix’ or cervical canal is made up of another kind of cell called columnar cells. The area where these cells meet is called the ‘transformation zone’ (T-zone) and is the most likely location for abnormal or precancerous cells to develop,” the doctors informed the women in attendance.

It was further explained that most cervical cancers (80 to 90 percent), are squamous cell cancers. Adenocarcinoma is the second most common type of cervical cancer, accounting for the remaining 10 to 20 percent of cases. Adenocarcinoma develops from the glands that produce mucus in the endocervix. While less common than squamous cell carcinoma, the incidence of adenocarcinoma is on the rise, particularly in younger women.

A global scenario
It was revealed to the women in attendance that more than 12,000 women in the United States will be diagnosed with cervical cancer each year, and more than 4,000 women will die. Cervical cancer is the second most common type of cancer for women worldwide, but because it develops over time, it is also one of the most preventable types of cancer.

Nonetheless, women were encouraged that there is hope.

The many women in attendance were informed that deaths from cervical cancer in the United States continue to decline by approximately two percent a year. This decline, they were told, is primarily due to the widespread use of the Pap test to detect cervical abnormalities and allow for early treatment. It was thus revealed that most women who have abnormal cervical cell changes that progress to cervical cancer have never had a Pap test or have not had one in the previous three to five years.

The women were further educated that cancer of the cervix tends to occur during mid-life. Half of the women diagnosed with the disease are between 35 and 55 years of age. It rarely affects women under age 20, and approximately 20 percent of diagnoses are made in women older than 65. For this reason, it is important for women to continue cervical cancer screening until at least the age of 70; some women need to continue screening longer. (mercilinburke2017@gmail.com)