BY OBERT SIAMILANDU APPROXIMATELY 16 400 women were screened for cervical cancer in the Midlands province last year, which was a 9% increase compared to 15 000 who were tested in 2020.
Provincial medical director Mary Muchekeza yesterday told Southern Eye that despite the COVID-19 restrictions in 2021, they increased cervical cancer treatment in the province.
“We managed to increase cervical cancer treatment rates from 63% in 2020 to 68% in 2021 against a target of 85%.
Women are encouraged to undergo regular screening for cervical cancer so that it can be detected early,” Muchekeza said.
“We keep encouraging women to undergo early cervical cancer screening as this will help in combating the disease,” she said.
About 18 health centres in the province are offering cervical cancer screening services.
According to the World Cancer Research Fund, Zimbabwe has the fifth highest burden of cervical cancer in the world.
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Over 1 000 women die from the disease in the country every year, making it the most common cancer among females.
Cervical cancer is likely to overtake childbirth as the developing world’s biggest killer of women.
It takes the lives of approximately 266 000 women every year and this number is said to be continuously rising, with projections suggesting that it could hit 416 000 by 2035 if nothing is done to tackle it.
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