Cervical cancer awareness campaign launched

By Caribbean Medical News Staff
The Guyana Responsible Parenthood Association (GRPA) in collaboration with the Rotary Club of Georgetown recently launched a cervical cancer awareness and screening campaign with medical teams conducting outreaches in various regions throughout Guyana.
The campaign, funded by Scotia Bank Guyana, will offer services such as free Visual Inspection with Acetic Acid (VIA) screening, cryotherapy and pap smears as well as breast examinations.
GRPA’s Executive Director Patricia Sheerattan-Bisnauth, said that the group is embarking on a plan that passes through Georgetown. She added they will be unable to tackle all of Guyana, but for now, will go into some of the Hinterland areas to provide test for the women of Indigenous communities. Sheerattan-Bisnauth explained that Guyana has an alarmingly high rate of cervical cancer cases and her organisation is deeply concerned about the high prevalence of cervical cancer in rural areas, where the women often do not have access to basic medical care.
She added that the GRPA hopes to reach the women within these outlying communities and hopes the outreaches will strengthen the strides already being taken to fight cervical cancer in Guyana, and improve access to the vital service of cervical cancer screening.
The Director told Guyana Times that one of issues women struggling with this disease face is lack of early detection. She added that the disease is most prevalent in sexually active, but not limited to, women in their 20s. She noted that all sexually active women should pay a visit to their physicians to check the need for screening.
She also stated that her organisation’s plan is to, “Use the media and community mobilisation to pass on information about the importance of screening for cervical cancer”.
Sheerattan-Bisnauth explained that one of the reasons they are pushing for the use of VIA testing, is because with VIA, a person can be screened, receive their results and treatment if need be, in a matter of minutes.
She noted that though a regular pap smear is still effective in its results, many women who go for pap smears often do not return to obtain their results, which the Director added, is to their detriment.
In addition, the GRPA Director told this newspaper her organisation has held training sessions for VIA providers with doctors and nurses not only from Guyana but also persons from other Caribbean Countries including Grenada, St Lucia, Belize and Trinidad who came to Guyana through a partnership with the John Hopkins University through an institute called “Jhpiego”, which is an international, non-profit health organisation affiliated with the John Hopkins University dedicated to improving the health of women and families, with a focus on cervical cancer.