Prof. Isaac Adewole, a former Minister of Health, Nigeria, says many people are unaware that contact bleeding especially during or just after sexual intercourse can be early sign of cervical cancer.
Adewole, Co-Founder, African Cancer Coalition, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos in a telephone interview on Monday that cervical cancer was preventable and treatable, if presented and diagnosed early.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), cervical cancer is still the second most common cancer among women in Nigeria and the fourth most common cancer among women globally.
It is the most common among women ages 15-44 years, claiming 7,900 women’s lives each year from the 12,000 cases reported in Nigeria.
Adewole said: “The challenge in Nigeria, just like the challenge in Africa and many developing countries, is that a lot of people are largely unaware of the situation with cervical cancer.
“Therefore, when they present to the hospitals, they present largely in advanced stage, for quite a number of reasons.
“One, they are not aware of the symptoms of early stages which include contact bleeding especially during bleeding or just after sexual intercourse.
“What most women with such incidents usually do is to stay away from their men believing that the bleeding was caused by the man.
“They probably thought it was due to trauma, and some form of injury. And interestingly, when they do that, the bleeding will stop but the disease will continue to progress.
“So, by the time they will have a resurgence of the disease in terms of symptoms, the disease will be far advanced.’’
NAN reports that Adewole is among the 12 leading health experts from around the world moving the powerful call to action in the fight against cervical cancer through The Global Declaration to Eliminate Cervical Cancer.
The declaration was formally launched at the World Health Assembly in Geneva on May 22, 2023, with signatures from more than 1200 global health leaders and advocates representing over 100 countries.
Top among them included former Prime Minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern, CEO of Amref Health Africa, Githinji Gitahi; President of the International Federation of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (FIGO) Jeanne Conry, and President-elect of the International Pediatric Association, Naveen Thacker.
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