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“I have suffered terribly because of cervical cancer. If only I had gone for screening early, I would not have gone through all that.” Those are the words of Rose Chiedo, a 43-year-old woman in Nairobi, who went through hell after being diagnosed with cervical cancer in July last year.
“When I realised that I had cervical cancer, the disease had already spread beyond the cervix to the tissues around the uterus. I thought death was just around the corner,” recalls Rose who is now recovering from the disease. Then came the financial shock.
“It was an unbearable strain to raise Sh8,000 for the tests and treatments needed every week. My relatives had to struggle to pull together the money,” she says.
Then the treatment itself (radiotherapy and chemotherapy) had harrowing side effects on Rose, both physically and emotionally such as vomiting and general sickness, leaving her drained.
“Now I thank God that I have survived the ordeal. My life is back to normal after several months of a tough experience,” she says, a bright smile lighting up her face.
Many other women are not so lucky. Cervical cancer is one of the top killer cancers ravaging Kenyan women. The National Guidelines for Cancer Management in Kenya estimate that 2,454 women are diagnosed with the disease every year, while at least 1,676 women die from it. It is believed that these numbers are far higher since many cases go unreported.
Data from the World Health Organisation shows this cancer is ten times more prevalent in Kenya than the United States.
Dr John Ong’ech, a specialist obstetrician, gynaecologist and consultant at the Kenyatta National Hospital is concerned that very few women screen for cervical cancer in Kenya because of low awareness about the disease, especially in rural areas.
He adds that even in urban centres where awareness levels are a bit higher, screening still remains relatively lower than expected. “Without early screening, many women in Kenya are at risk. Others will go through unnecessary physical, emotional and financial suffering. Prevention is the best option,” he advises.
Dr Ahmed Kalebi of Pathologists Lancet Kenya, a network of private laboratories, says screening enables abnormal cell growths on the cervix to be treated early before they become cancerous.
Screening can be done through either visual examination of the cervix or through pap smears in which tissue from the cervix is examined in the lab to check for any abnormalities.
The latest test in the market - the HPV test - looks for viruses that are believed to cause most cervical cancers. “Since cervical cancer may not have visible symptoms in the early stages, regular screening is the best way to detect it early," says Kalebi.
Dr Nelly Bosire, an obstetric-gynaecologist at KNH says that myths about cervical cancer screening impede the fight against the killer disease. “Some women believe the screening is very painful, but that is not true. Others fear being diagnosed with the cancer. Others are screened once and never bother to follow-up,” she says.
According to general guidelines, screening for cervical cancer using a pap smear should begin from age 21. Subsequent tests are done every three years. From age 30, one can be tested every five years if both the pap smear and HPV test are normal. From age 65 to 70, most women can stop having pap smears as long as they have had three negative tests within the past 10 years.
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