Continuing the fight against Cervical Cancer!

There are two types of cancer that haunt women specifically, they are Breast Cancer and Cervical Cancer. While the former cannot be prevented, the case is not the same for Cervical Cancer.

There is a vaccine for it with which cancer can be avoided.  Hence medical organizations and stalwarts of the healthcare sector like Rao Hospital in Coimbatore have been continuously creating awareness about it, so that lives could be saved.

In India, the data from WHO shows that a woman dies of this disease every eight minutes. In 2018 alone, close to 100,000 new cases were diagnosed in India and 60,000 women died from it. Today, it causes the second-highest cancer-related deaths in Indian women.

Cervical cancer develops in a woman’s cervix, and the main cause of this cancer is due to a virus called Human Papillomaviruses (HPV), an extremely common virus transmitted through sexual contact.

Gynec-oncologists who deal with Cervical cancer say that majority of patients with these cancers come for treatment when the disease has reached its third or fourth stages.

So the prevention and early detection aspect need to be conveyed to a larger number of women. If the life-saving vaccine is administered between 11-12 years of age, then the risk of cervical cancer in a woman is cut down to a phenomenal level.

While the HPV vaccination is the first defence against this disease, secondary prevention approaches like screening after 35 years of age will prevent cervical cancer risks.

Even if a woman is not vaccinated and has crossed the suitable age for vaccination, a pap smear test can help her find whether she is at risk. So timely administration of vaccine and check up after 40 years of age is very much essential for every woman.

Being one of the leading women health care providers, Rao Hospital understands the necessity of spreading awareness for Cervical Cancer.

Recently the hospital announced that their entire team took an oath this year to continue striving to fight cervical cancer by being at the forefront through our community awareness programs for HPV vaccination & preventive screening for early detection of cervical cancer.

Rotary Clubs, many leading hospitals in Coimbatore are creating programs like this, and it is a good sign that Covai is showing the way to others.

During an exclusive interview with The Covai Mail for Doctors Day 2021, Dr.Asha Rao, MD of Rao Hospital & Care emphasized that she feels that there is much work to be done in creating awareness about cancers that affect women. She added that through the Meera Sharadha Foundation, they are engaged in organizing various awareness programs about cancer prevention.