A Gynaecologist at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) Dr Kwadwo Sarbin has advised women to report chronic blood flowing from their cervix to their doctors to prevent the untoward.
According to him, apart from blood that flows during menstruation and virgins who experience blood flow during their first sexual intercourse, women whose panties are soaked with blood after sexual intercourse should not hesitate to visit the hospitals.
Speaking on the Ultimate Breakfast Show hosted by Lantam Papanko, he warned that excessive blood flow which is not remnant of menstruation could be early cervical cancer.
‘…If you see blood after sexual intercourse, you need to see your doctor quickly, if its not a remnant of menstruation, your doctor will access you and say there is nothing. Mid cycle or ten days after your menses and after intercourse you see blood, it means the penis has provoked something, or if you are having recurrent vagina discharge, sometimes it could be early cervical cancer,’ he explained.
According to him, cervical cancer affect sexually active women saying cervical cancer is by inferences a Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs) because its rare among catholic nuns.
‘…The cervix is quite exposed to some substances from the penis by virtue of its location, it takes all sort of bacteria, viruses that the man brings to the woman, that is the first point of entry,’ he said.
He stated that the womb of a woman is taken off if the cervix becomes cancerous, saying cervical cancer is sometimes contracted through child births.
‘Cancer is an abnormal growth that spreads to other structures in the body. It can start from the cervix to the kidney or bladder…the womb is taken off if the cervix is cancerous depending on the length of growth,’ he explained.
Dr Sarbin revealed that cervical cancer kills women more than breast cancer saying most cases about cervical cancers are not reported to medics.
He indicated that lots of women who die of cervical cancer in the villages are not recorded adding that they only have institutional figures.
The Gynaecologist at KATH attributed lack of data relating to cervical cancer to how people keep mum about diseases affecting their private parts.
…’So you see a woman who has reached menopause experiencing menstruation and goes to the herbalist, they complain that they have dysmenorrhea (anidanea), most of them are cancer. But the herbalist will give medicine for dysmenorrhea and this old lady will be taking it, till she passes on. To give you a better picture is to compare it to breast cancer, it has over taken breast cancer, as I am talking to you now, because we have made lot of noise about breast cancer,’ he said.
Dr Sarbin bemoaned the lack of attention given to cervical cancer, adding that its difficult for people to know that they have cervical cancer as compared to breast cancer where people report lumps in their breasts.
He asserted that people need to be educated on the dangers associated with cervical cancer if left untreated.
‘Cervical cancer awareness is very key, we should educate people about it just like we are doing for breast cancer,’ he suggested.
The cervix is a cylinder-shaped neck of tissue that connects the vagina and uterus.
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