If Cancer is Preventable, Would You Take a Chance?

Well, who would not? The world would certainly be a better place if all the cancers were preventable and researchers are doing their best to make that dream a reality. If not all, there are some cancers that can be prevented to a good extent. Did you know about a vaccine that would reduce the chance for the women around you from being victims of life-threatening Cervical cancer? It is ranked as the 2nd most frequent cancer among women in India.

If we are able to defeat polio around the world, we certainly can do it with cervical cancer as well; spreading awareness is the key. In India, as a matter of fact, most people aren’t aware of it until they are diagnosed. Who is at fault? Especially in this era of information and technology where each one of us can make a real difference by creating awareness; It can save thousands of lives. Don’t you think it is unfair to lose our loved ones just because of not having the right information at the right time?

Let me share with you some of the facts, tips, and stories from my experience. I am a psycho-oncologist and have been working with many patients over the last few years dealing with their psychological issues during their treatment.

Male or female, you should know what Cervical Cancer is.

Cervical cancer starts from the cervix — the lower part of the uterus that connects to the vagina. Human Papillomavirus (HPV) is the cause of 80% of Cervical cancers found in India. The current statistics indicate that 96,922 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer and 60,078 die from the disease every year in India alone(that is as huge as 62%). The worst part is it actually preventable! Unfortunately, even women living in urban cities are still not aware of its symptoms, risks and preventive measures of this disease. As a result, we are losing our mothers, sisters, wives, or friends for nothing.

The symptoms you must watch for.

Some of the common symptoms of cervical cancer are listed below.

• Abnormal vaginal bleeding
• Vaginal discomfort or odorous discharge from the vagina
• Painful intercourse
• Back pain or pelvic pain
• Weight loss.

If you see any forms of abnormalities around the above-mentioned topics, immediately seek a medical opinion.

The risk factors you should be aware of.

One of the many risk factors for developing cervical cancer is having intercourse at an early age or having multiple sexual partners, poor genital hygiene, multiple pregnancies in short intervals, genital tract infections and in fact tobacco use could also increase the chance of developing cervical cancers in women.

The preventive measures you must know.

Getting immunized against Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) is one of the best ways to prevent cervical cancer. It is highly advised to take the vaccine as a child, or at least before a person(male and female) is sexually active. Ignoring the HPV vaccine for children is very common in India. Majority of parents are not aware of the vaccine or do not see it as a necessary vaccine.

We need to adopt better health-seeking behaviors in our society; if you are not an expert medical professional, you must refrain from doing self-diagnosis, or casually dismissing anyone’s medical complaints by advising random reasons or by giving examples of other medical cases. It is a good practice to discuss preventive measures of diseases in general. One should also periodically check with their loved ones whether they are doing right screenings for such preventive diseases, especially when every time we come across these awareness campaigns. Do not ignore them, these campaigns are designed as reminders around the year, but most of us ignore thinking bad things only happen to others. We need to change that very attitude from our culture and grow as aware, healthy and responsible citizens. Because such ignorance will put us into severe consequences.

Especially people working in healthcare must motivate all parents to get their kids vaccinated against HPV. Studies have shown that the recommendation from a physician would motivate parents to take the vaccine for their kids.

What can you learn from the people who have gone through it once?

From the last few years, I have been hearing so many people with cervical cancer saying “No one has ever told me to get a cervical cancer screening test done”. The recurrence of this concern is nothing but a validation of the lack of awareness in our society.

A few weeks back, one of my patients said to me, “I never thought cervical cancer could happen to me”. She is 43 years, mother of two, well educated and lives in a metro city. She told me, she has been ignoring some of the symptoms for a long time. It is very unfortunate but, I could completely relate with her to many patients especially mothers who would ignore such signs. Some of the other concerns I often hear from cervical cancer patients are “I was not aware of the screening facilities”, “I was having these symptoms for a long time and I thought it’s because of PCOD”.

As a healthcare professional, every single time I hear these women and their helpless voices, I feel so bad about the state of ignorance among educated women in our country, let alone the cases of rural areas. Because of the lack of awareness about Cervical cancer and reluctant attitude to seek timely care due to fear of stigmatization, you are putting yourself under serious danger as it will lead to progression of the disease and poor prognosis.

Today let’s promise ourselves to be more aware individuals, be ambassadors to educate people around us and to build a better healthy nation. If you have learned anything new with this article, please share with the few people you care about. Let us use the power of social media by sharing such information to save thousands of precious lives around us.