Dr Adinkra Kyeremeh, the Sunyani Municipal Director, Ghana Health Service has advised women to go for cervical cancer screening at any nearest health facility for early detection and treatment of any changes in the cervix. 

He said all women were at risk and were likely to get the disease, but the best decision for its prevention was early and constant screening to avoid further complications that might lead to death. 

Dr Kyeremeh who advised in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Sunyani, noted that one could be vaccinated against the disease at the early ages of 12 and 13 before one would become sexually active.

“If not, regular screening starting from age 20 and above remains the best preventive method of the disease’s occurrence”, he added.

Dr Kyeremeh said more nurses had been trained and were available at the health facilities for screening services to ensure the screening of women of the required age.

This, he explained was because symptoms of the disease such as vaginal discharge, loss of weight, post-menstrual bleeding, and painful sexual intercourse were indications that  cancer had already been developed and the chances of a patient’s survival become less.

Dr Kyeremeh stressed the survival of a patient in such a time depended on the stage of the disease and explained sometimes cancer might either be just at the cervix or might have been spreading to the other organs of the body.

He said the screening was free during campaigns whenever support had been received from some philanthropists and non-governmental organizations.

Dr Kyeremeh urged women to take advantage to go for the services whenever there was an announcement anywhere for a free screening to save themselves from other health complications related to the disease.

He said last year the Bono region recorded eight positive cases of the disease after the screening, saying some patients were in very critical condition.

Dr Kyeremeh stated surgery could sometimes be done as part of the treatment for the removal of the cervix to prevent  cancer from spreading to the lungs, liver, abdomen, and other parts of the body.

He, however, stressed women 20 years and above should not wait for the announcement of free screening before they visited any health centre because “the screening is free all the time”.

Dr Kyeremeh however indicated that a small amount of money might be charged sometimes to keep a health facility where the services were being provided running because the exercise was not covered by the health insurance scheme.