World Cancer Day as we know it, falls on February 4 each year, marking the prevalence of top cancers that affect the population in India – among which lung, breast, cervical and colorectal cancers lead the way.
Cervical Cancer that occurs in the cells of the cervix – the tunnel-like tissue that connects the uterus with the vagina – is a major killer disease among women. Every year more than 300,000 women die of cervical cancer in the world, and unfortunately about 80% of that number comes from lower or middle income countries.
This is nothing more tragic than losing our women to this form of cancer, because it can be prevented by vaccination and screening of women during their adolescence.
Studies indicate that China and India account for 35% of the global cervical cancer burden, further stating that approximately 570,000 cases of cervical cancer and 311,000 deaths from the disease occurred in the year 2018.
Numbers indicate a clear urban-rural divide, with stable cervical cancer rates in rural parts of India than in the urban areas that seem to have reported a decline in trends. Of the women from various walks of life, Cervical Cancer poses as a serious public health threat affecting middle-aged women, particularly in less-resourced countries like India.
Despite a lack of awareness and a lot of shyness associated with the invasive nature of screening, teenage girls should be encouraged to undergo diagnosis earlier through vaccinations and regular screening, to check on genetic elements affecting their vulnerability to HPV infection thereby impacting their risks of developing cervical cancer during later stages of their life.
However, research also indicates that global scaling up of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination and HPV-based screening has the potential to make cervical cancer a rare disease in the coming decades.
There’s also enough research to prove that at the onset of 21 years, women should undergo cervical cancer screening regardless of their risk factors for HPV acquisition. For young women between the ages of 21 and 29 years with normal cytology, screening should be repeated no sooner than 3 years.
That’s why at Trivitron, we are on a global mission of making healthcare affordable and accessible to women across borders, to lay emphasis on providing cost-effective solutions for cervical cancer screening and diagnosis, and to achieve highest standards of excellence in cervical cancer testing with respect to accuracy and efficiency.