Medical Teaching Institution Hayatabad Medical Complex (MTI-HMC) Peshawar launched a Cervical Cancer Screening facility at Gynecology Out-Patient Department (OPD) here on Thursday. The Obstetrics and Gynecology department of the hospital organized a one-day symposium on cervical cancer awareness. The founder of Women's Hospital and ex-chairperson of MTI- HMC Gynecology Department, Professor Dr. Lubna Hassan attended the event as a chief guest. On the occasion chairperson of the Gynecology Department MTI-HMC, Professor Dr. Shamshad Begum, Professor Dr. Bushra Rauf, Associate Professor Sadia Shamsher, and medical faculty of the Gynecology Department MTI Mardan Medical Complex (MMC) and other faculty members of MTI-HMC attended the event.
On this occasion, Prof. Dr. Lubna Hassan said that Gynecology doctors can help in reducing the ratio of cervical cancer by creating awareness as well as by examining the women who come to the hospital on a regular basis. She said that in a poor country like Pakistan, meeting the expense of diagnosis and treatment of cervical cancer is hardly possible for many people, so doctors working in different hospitals and private clinics can help women with early detection.
While addressing the ceremony, the chairperson of the Gynecology Department of MTI-HMC, Prof. Dr. Shamshad Begum, said that while celebrating World Cancer Day, we must keep in mind the importance of cervical cancer and we must try to protect women from the third major cancer of Pakistan. She emphasized on the availability of vaccines for girls up to 15 years as every year more than 8 thousand women in Pakistan are diagnosed with this cancer.
The speakers of the symposium emphasized that women between the ages of 35 and 45 should try to get a diagnostic test as soon as they notice mild symptoms of cervical cancer. The speakers said that 9 out of every 10 women diagnosed with cervical cancer should be treated. Abnormal bleeding, vaginal discharge, general fatigue, lower back pain, or leg cramps can be symptoms of cervical cancer, the speakers said.
After the symposium, a special center for cervical cancer screening was inaugurated at the Gynecology OPD and shields were distributed among the participants.