●Mrs Zenabu Addo (middle) cuttingthe tape to launch the programme

Described as deadly, devastating and leaving families in misery, cervical cancer has claimed many lives in Ghana than those recorded by road accidents and maternal deaths.

Data from the Human Papilloma Vi­rus (HPV) Information Centre in Ghana has revealed that about 3,151 new cases of cervical cancer are diagnosed annually, and the disease is ranked the second most frequent cancers among women.

In 2019, alone, the disease claimed a total of 2,103 lives in the country.

The District Deputy Director of Nursing Services, Mrs Zenabu Addo who was speaking at the launch of this year’s Cervical Cancer Awareness Month at the Madina Polyclinic, Kekele in Accra, said Cervical Cancer was caused by a sexually transmitted virus called HPV.

The programme which was or­ganised by the Madina Polyclinic in collaboration with the Cancer Support Network Ghana was themed, “Early Detection is Key.”

Mrs Zenabu Addo enumerated the risk factors as engaging in early sex before attaining the age of 20, smok­ing, having multiple sexual partners at different times and one’s family history among others.

Mr Blaise Ackom, a Cervical Cancer Ambassador in a keynote address em­phasised the point that women should embrace regular screening for early detection of the disease and subse­quent treatment.

He said the key preventable meth­od was for young ladies to abstain from sex and that women should take advantage of the awareness creation month and have themselves screened at a lower cost.

He noted that there was no cure for cervical cancer anywhere apart from the hospital.

Mr Ackom warned against smoking, especially shisha which he said was more dangerous than smoking many sticks of cigarette and lamented that the rate at which the youth were smoking shisha was alarming.

He called on husbands to support their wives and female children to screen regularly and parents in gener­al to take good care of their children so that they would not fall prey to bad behaviours in society.

He advised women to study their bodies well in order to identify abnor­malities and promptly report issues of post-coital bleeding.

The Cervical Cancer Ambassa­dor appealed to the government to include free screening of the disease in the National Health Insurance Scheme.

Ms Rosetta Ntriwaa Aboagye, a Midwife at the LekMA Polyclinic at Teshie Tsuibleoo, observed that since the cervix played essential roles in the lives of women, there was the need to cherish it and ensure that it was well maintained.

“Since this is the only cancer which is preventable, why do we wait unnecessarily without embracing the preventable means for it to destroy us,” she asked.

Ms Afwoa Mireku Ampomah, also a Cervical Cancer Ambassador, called on women to take control of their lives, boost their immune system and avail themselves of vaccination.

 By Raymond Kyekye