DHAKA, Oct 6, 2018 (BSS/UNICEF FEATURE) – Personal hygiene is very
important to prevent Cervical Cancer, which is the second most common cancer
in Bangladesh, with detection of approximately 12,000 new cases and cause
over 6,000 deaths annually.
“Personal hygiene can avert the cervical cancer. The prevalence of this
disease is more in low socio economic areas in our country,” Associate
Professor and Head of Epidemiology at the National Cancer Research Institute
and Hospital Dr M Habibullah Talukder Ruskin told BSS.
He also blamed early marriage, early sexual intercourse, and maintaining
physical relation with multiple partners for the cause of the cancer.
“Preventive cervical screening programmes are necessary for early
detection, which can also prevent many cancer-related deaths,” Cancer
Specialist (Radiotherapy) Prof. Dr. M Ehteshamul Hoque told BSS. According to
a report by the US National Centre for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health
Promotion, up to 93 percent of cervical cancer cases can be prevented.
“Awareness about cervical cancer is negligible, particularly in low socio-
economic groups, who also have the highest exposure to risk,” they said.
Many people don’t even know about early detection, symptoms, preventive
measures or even what cervical cancer is. If they were aware, it’s usually a
problem that is not prioritized, they added.
Stressing the early screening and vaccination to prevent the cancer,
Director General of Directorate General of Health Services Professor Dr Abul
Kalam Azad told BSS, “The national strategy for Bangladesh has been designed
with the goal to reduce the incidence, prevalence, morbidity and mortality
from cervical cancer through a coordinated and refined approach for
screening, detection, and management”.
As per representative of United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Dr Asa
Torkelsson, in Bangladesh, a comprehensive approach to cervical cancer
prevention and control should involve vaccinating women before sexual debut
and screening women for precancerous lesion and treatment before progression
to invasive disease.
Cervical cancer is an abnormal growth of cells in the cervix, the lower
end of the uterus that connects with the upper vagina. Over 90 percent of
cases are caused by the Human Papillomavirus (HPV).
Most people never even know that they have HPV, as their immune system
fights it off. But in some cases, the virus can transform normal cells in the
cervix to cancerous ones. Doctors also attribute certain “risk factors” to
the likelihood of developing cervical cancer.
These precancerous lesions can be diagnosed and removed using simple and
effective outpatient procedures, but since they do not cause any clinical
symptoms, they can only be identified by cervical screening, the experts
emphasized.
In Bangladesh, over 30 million women aged 30-60 years need to be screened
for Cervical Cancer, according to National Strategy for Cervical Cancer
Prevention and Control in Bangladesh.