We need to address the stigma attached to pelvic examination: Smt. Priyanka Chaturvedi, Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha)
ASSOCHAM
organised a conference on cervical cancer to mark Cervical Cancer Awareness
Month, which is observed in January
·
Need
to create demand for primary prevention through vaccination and for screening
and early detection
·
Girls
must be fully vaccinated with the HPV vaccine by the age of 15
January
28th, 2022: Since the
month of January is observed as Cervical Cancer Awareness Month, ASSOCHAM, the
apex industry body, organised a conference on 'Awareness and Prevention of
Cervical Cancer' in order to honour and assist women who have either been
diagnosed with it or are being treated for this health condition.
Smt.
Priyanka Chaturvedi, Hon'ble Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha) was the guest of honour at the conference. “There
are some issues that have taken priority over cervical cancer such as TB and
COVID. If we intend to prioritize the need to eradicate cervical cancer this
would go a long way. The challenges are that we need to address the stigma
attached to pelvic examination, and build awareness amongst women in all
strata,” she said. “We need to make screening a mandatory measure and create
awareness because even urban women are not aware of it. India has become the
pharma destination and we should take the lead in the HPV vaccine.,” she added.
Dr. Princess
Nothemba (Nono) Simelela, Assistant Director-General and Special Advisor
for Strategic Priorities, World Health Organization (WHO) stressed on the need to be optimistic.
She said, “We need to recognise global health complacency. We have tools to
detect this cancer. We have to make sure these preventive tools reach
everybody. These days there is more focus on profit than solidarity because the
vaccine is expensive. Everyone needs to take responsibility. There are new
technologies that can augment change. Women should come together to challenge
and demand these services. We need to make our demands political.”
Dr. Shalini
Singh, Director, ICMR-National Institute of Cancer Prevention and Research,
MoHFW, GOI, focused
on the need to spread awareness, which is lagging behind. She added, “Awareness
and knowledge give us power and perception. It also gives us the self-confidence
to think from different levels. Ideally, all women should be aware of cervical
cancer. Things like ‘where can I seek help?’ or ‘who can get affected’?” She
explained that in order to eliminate cancer, the policymakers, medical
fraternity, and community need to come together to raise awareness; create
demand for primary prevention through vaccination and for screening and early
detection. All these together shall fructify the goal of cervical cancer
elimination.
Mr.
Narendra Varde, Managing Director - India & Neighbouring Markets, Roche
Diagnostics India informed
that one-fourth of cervical mortality comes from India. He further
explained that “Cervical cancer is a common cause of death among
women of reproductive age. Especially in India, cervical cancer accounts for
17% of all cancer deaths among women between 30 and 69 years. These deaths can
be prevented, provided cancer is detected and treated in the early
stages. WHO's three main pillars of Prevent, Screen, and Treat offer a
comprehensive approach to cervical cancer elimination by 2030. India too needs
a robust public health policy for prevention through HPV screening and
vaccination.”
Mr.
Ravi Bhatnagar, Co-Chairperson, ASSOCHAM CSR Council, Director, External
Affairs and Partnerships (SOA)–Reckitt shared that cervical cancer is the fourth-most frequent cancer
in women worldwide, after breast cancer, colorectal cancer, and lung cancer, with
around 500,000 new cases cropping up every year, as well as 300,000 deaths.
Stressing on the fact that it can be cured, he informed that the Government of
India (GOI) is also taking all possible measures and initiatives, through
robust planning and strategic implementation framework, in this
direction. The Ministry of
Health has introduced Papanicolaou test (Pap smear screening), HPV-DNA test, and
numerous programs to promote a healthy lifestyle, generate awareness, and early
detection. Mr. Bhatnagar also
focused on the need of creating more awareness, vaccination, and preventive
measures in order to erudite the cancer.
Dr. S.
Shantha Kumari, President, The Federation of Obstetric and Gynaecological
Societies of India FOGSI said
that Pap smear screening examination should be made mandatory. She also
stressed that the girls must be fully vaccinated with the HPV vaccine by the
age of 15. If we do screening for cervical cancer we can reduce the burden
of cancer on women, she added.
Dr. Radhika
Srinivasan, Professor, and Head of Department of Cytology & Gynec.
Pathology, PGIMER, Chandigarh, and Secretary, Indian Academy of
Cytologists gave
a presentation titled ‘Cytology for Cervical Cancer Screening - Is It Relevant
Today?’ She also informed that “Cytology and HPV DNA testing are both available
in India. In Cytology, we have moved from conventional to liquid-based cytology
which is available and quite affordable too”. Dr. Radhika stated that cytology
detects the disease rather than the infection and emphasized that all
disciplines need to work together and create an efficient system for the
present and the future.
Dr. Abhishek
Shankar, Associate Professor, Department of Radiation Oncology, AIIMS, Patna;
Associate Editor, APJCP; Associate Editor, SAJC, Editor in Chief, APJCC;
Founder Secretary, ISCO explained
that India needs a ground-shot approach as well as a community-based approach.
For this, we need to create a good strategy as it's going to be difficult to do
so. He further explained, “Let’s put our efforts together to achieve the WHO
target of ‘Eliminate Cervical Cancer’ in near future. Ministry of Health and
Family Welfare, Government of India has a framework for screening of common
cancers in India that recommends Visual Inspection with Acetic Acid (VIA) for
women between 30-65 years, every 5 years in population-based cancer screening.
Cotesting with HPV DNA and Pap tests are recommended for women above 30
years and only Pap test is advised between 21-29 years women. HPV vaccination
is recommended between 9-26 years before sexual activity. Only 2 doses of
vaccine are required between 9-18 years and 3 doses afterward.”
Ms.
Mridu Gupta, Chief Executive Officer, Caped India informed that while cervical cancer is the fourth-most cancer in
the world, in India, it's the second-most common disease, which claims the
lives of women every 8 minutes. She elaborated, “World Health Organisation
(WHO) has made an estimate that India will be cervical-free in 2110, which is a
very long time. We also fall short on many parameters and lack of information
is a major problem, but it can be reduced if there are discussions on cervical
cancer and if awareness encourages and increases the number of women to
undertake screening. We need to create strategies and conversations around it
regularly.”
Dr. Rajesh
Kesari, Founder, and Director, Total Care Control, Delhi-NCR, who moderated the session, highlighted that cervical cancer that affects the female gender
is an infection due to human papillomavirus (HPV); it is the most common
sexually transmitted infection and is responsible for the majority of cervical
malignancies. However, cervical cancer can be cured if detected early and
the conference aimed to
create this awareness in order to eliminate it.
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