Global Prevalence of Cervical Cancer- Statement delivered by the Chief Matron (RVTH)

The Chairman for the Occasion, Mr. Geoffrey Renner

The WHO Representative, Dr. Thomas Sukwa

The Chairman and Board Members of the Hospital Management Board

The Chief Medical Director ably represented by Dr Emmanuel Bambello, Chairman, Medical Advisory Committee

The Chairman, Advisers and Board Members of the Francis Degaulle Njie Foundation

The Senior Management Team members and staff of the Royal Victoria Teaching Hospital

Recipients of Certificates

Members of the Press both Print and Electronic

Distinguished Ladies and Gentleman

 

Mr. Chairman, please permit me to give global incidence and mortality rates of cervical cancer in the absence of reliable statistics from the Gambia

Cervical cancer is the 5^th most common cancer in women worldwide with approximately 471,000 new cases diagnosed each year. It’s sobering to think that a woman dies of cervical cancer approximately every 2 minutes.

 

In less developed countries, this type of cancer is the second most common in women and accounts for up to 300,000 annual deaths. 80% of the cases occur in low-income and middle-income countries.

 

Cervical Cancer is the most common cancer for women in Central America and Southern Africa. The Caribbean, other parts of Africa, South America and South Eastern Asia also have very high incidences of this disease.

 

Unfortunately, many women from these areas don’t have access to routine exams such as Pap smear. 

 

Although the average age of diagnosis is 50, women as young as 17 can contract the disease.

 

 In the United States, cervical cancer is the 8^th most common type of cancer in women. More than 10,000 new patients develop cervical cancer each year, and 3, 600 women in the US die from this disease annually.

 

In the United Kingdom, approximately 2800 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer each year. As many as 1,100 women die from the disease which is the 12^th most common cancer for women in the U.K. In 2003 approximately 2300 women were diagnosed with cervical cancer in England alone.

 

 

Mr. Chairman, Distinguished ladies and gentlemen the figures just quoted are quite alarming, though we cannot quote figures from the Gambia, as a tertiary institution we have seen an increase in the number of cases reporting to the hospital annually and in very late stages of the disease too. As we know pre-cancerous cells can take 10-15 years to develop into cancer so early detection is very important in treating cervical cancer. Fortunately more than 90% of this type of cancer is curable if the disease is detected and treated early enough. Routine exams such as Pap Smears can greatly reduce the risk of contracting and dying from cervical cancer.

 

The introduction of the Pap smear test in 1941 has greatly reduced the number of cervical cancer related deaths. Pap smears have lowered worldwide annual deaths by approximately 2% decline each year. They have also reduced the overall death rate by approximately 74% since the tests were first implemented. The test is considered the most successful cancer screening technique ever discovered and I am happy to report that this test is carried out in RVTH.

 

On a more positive note, less cervical cancer related deaths are occurring each year thanks to increased awareness and simple procedures such as pelvic exams and Pap Smears.

 

In RVTH, we have established a cervical cancer screening unit within the gynae clinic with the help of Dr Leonardo Gonzalez and a trained nurse. We hope to recruit a medical officer who will be trained alongside the nurse to take over the running of this unit when Dr Leonardo finally leaves for Cuba in early 2011.  With the support of the Foundation last year we were able to train 35 nurses countrywide on cervical cancer screening techniques, in the same year the hospital acquired a state of the art colposcope and diathermy machine from a couple in the U.K. The function of this machine is to do an optical examination of the vagina and neck of the womb (cervix). The colposcope is a low-power binocular microscope with a long focus. The machine is able to detect early stages of cancer of the cervix, whilst the diathermy is used to produce a diffuse warming effect or an intense local cutting or coagulating effect for bloodless surgery.

 

Mr. Chairman, I am sure Dr Leonardo will enlighten us more about the use of this sophisticated machine when we go down stairs for the official handing over ceremony of the clinic.

 

I thank you all for your kind attention.