The fight for the screening and cure of cervical cancer continues with the first ladies in Africa. On July 25, 2012, a conference was held in Lusaka, Zambia to address issues of cervical cancer that have been challenging to women. The first ladies of six African countries took on the responsibility to help overcome this problem. Dr. Kaseba Sata, the first lady of Zambia, committed herself to work hard to see that women are informed about cervical cancer care, screening, and treatment. She said if it could be detected early, it would speed up the process of healing.

However, there are still a number of challenges to face before reaching this goal. One of the challenges is dispelling the myth that a person should not get screenings when they are seemingly healthy, as this may cause someone to get the sickness for which they are checking.

Understanding why women should get regular cervical cancer screenings is very important. During the beginning of HIV/AIDS outbreaks, most people never wanted to test for the diseases due to the stigma that is associated with them. According to Ronda from N’gombe Township, the matter of screening for cervical cancer may be just as difficult as that of AIDS, meaning that more sensitization may be required to reach the masses.

The first ladies pledged to provide resources to the people and to help with treatment for those found in the danger zone. However, the challenges are many, as most developing countries are faced with issues, such as sub-par technology to screen and treat cervical cancer and a lack of skilled workers. Other problems include the mobilization of resources due to bad roads to the remote parts of their countries that have bad health care. The few hospitals that can carry out such operations may not have the right equipment or enough skilled workers.

At the moment, sensitization programs are not yet in existence. This means that a well-planned program must be built from scratch. Dr. Kaseba has promised full support and will work with her partners to see that this disease is reduced in Zambia and Africa as a whole. Nevertheless, the sensitization program has not yet begun full swing in Zambia. During the conference, Dr. Kaseba urged women to make use of existing services and said she will do her best to advocate for the resources to eliminate cervical cancer.

However, the cancer hospital in Lusaka and other district hospitals that are fully functioning have a long wait for someone in need of service. This is another possible reason why women may be reluctant to receive treatment. There is a call on men to work hand in hand in sensitizing everyone to understand the need of screening before the problem is big; they are also being urged to be more involved, as this is a sexually transmitted infection (STI), and they can choose to protect their partners.

Calls for more information on the disease and for both parties to take precaution and prevention measures is being considered among  women. Men should be sensitized to stop living a careless life style and concentrate on their families. In fact, men should help protect women from the diseases and to advance a motherly well-being. Africa requires men and women to work together in reducing the spread of cervical cancer.

Image Courtesy of  Embassy of Equatorial Guinea

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The percentage of U.S. citizens screened for cancer remains below national targets, with significant disparities among racial and ethnic populations, according to the first federal study to identify cancer screening disparities among Asian and Hispanic groups.

The report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health, was published in the CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

In 2010, breast cancer screening rates were 72.4 percent, below the Healthy People 2020 target of 81 percent; cervical cancer screening was 83 percent, below the target of 93 percent; and colorectal cancer screening was 58.6 percent, below the target of 70.5 percent, according to the study, “Cancer Screening in the United States – 2010.”

Screening rates for all three cancers were significantly lower among Asians (64.1 percent for breast cancer, 75.4 percent for cervical cancer, and 46.9 percent for colorectal cancer) compared to other groups, the study found.  Hispanics were less likely to be screened for cervical and colorectal cancer (78.7 percent and 46.5 percent, respectively) when compared to non-Hispanics (83.8 percent and 59.9 percent, respectively).

“It is troubling to see that not all Americans are getting the recommended cancer screenings and that disparities continue to persist for certain populations. Screening can find breast, cervical, and colorectal cancers at an early stage when treatment is more effective,” said Sallyann Coleman King, M.D., an epidemic intelligence service officer in CDC’s Division of Cancer Prevention and Control and lead author of the study.

“We must continue to monitor cancer screening rates to improve the health of all Americans.” Healthy People 2020 sets national objectives for improving the health of all Americans. Such objectives include the use of screening tests recommended by the United States Preventive Services Task Force for breast, cervical, and colorectal cancers.

Women aged 50-74 years should be screened for breast cancer with a mammogram every two years. Women who have been sexually active for three years or are aged 21-65 years should be screened for cervical cancer with a Pap test at least every three years.

Colorectal cancer screening is recommended for average-risk men and women aged 50-75 years, using high-sensitivity fecal occult blood test (FOBT), done at home every year; sigmoidoscopy every five years, with high-sensitivity FOBT every three years; or colonoscopy every 10 years.

To assess the use of currently recommended cancer screening tests by age, race, ethnicity, education, length of residence in the United States, and the source and financing of health care researchers analyzed data from the 2010 National Health Interview Survey, which tracks progress toward the achievement of  Healthy People 2020 objectives.

For the ethnic subgroups, Asians were classified as Chinese, Filipino, or other Asian and Hispanics as Puerto Rican, Mexican, Mexican-American, Central or South American, or other Hispanic.

Significant findings include:

• Screening rates for breast cancer remained relatively stable and varied no more than 3 percent over the period 2000-2010.
• From 2000-2010, colorectal cancer screening rates increased markedly for men and women, with the rate for women increasing slightly faster so that rates among both sexes were nearly identical (58.5 percent for men and 58.8 percent for women) in 2010.
• From 2000-2010, a small but statistically significant downward trend of 3.3 percent was observed in the rate of women who reported getting a Pap test within the last three years.
• Considerably lower breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer screening use was reported by those without any usual source of health care or health insurance.

The authors note that this study reinforces the need to identify and track cancer screening disparities. Additionally, the report provides guidance for the development programs to increase the use of screening tests in order to meet Healthy People 2020 targets and simultaneously reduce cancer morbidity and mortality.

“Healthy People objectives are important for monitoring progress toward reducing the burden of cancer in the United States. Our study points to the particular need for finding ways to increase the use of breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer screening tests among Asians, Hispanics, as well as adults who lack health insurance or a usual source of health care” said Carrie Klabunde, Ph.D., an epidemiologist in NCI’s Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences and a co-author of the study.

According to the authors, the Affordable Care Act is expected to reduce financial barriers to care by expanding insurance coverage. Other efforts are needed such as developing systems that identify individuals eligible for cancer screening tests, actively encouraging the use of screening tests, and monitoring participation to improve screening rates, they say.

Image Courtesy of   http://www.flickr.com/photos/christianacare/

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