Though breast cancer has overtaken cervical cancer as the most common cancer among women across the Indian in the past decade, the latter is more alarming.
About 75-80 per cent of patients are found in advanced stages of the disease at the time of diagnosis, said Dr Anju Parera, consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist of Mother Care Hospital.
Cervical cancer is completely preventable now its vaccine is available and can be injected to the women aged between 9 to 47 years, said Dr Parera. According to the WHO, India has the highest rate of cervical cancer in the world. One in every 10 cancer deaths worldwide is in urban India, she said.
The cervical cancer had been more prevalent in rural and semi-urban areas where hygiene is an issue. Since the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) which triggers cervical cancer is sexually transmitted from men to women, it has become lifestyle-dependent. The HPV infection is completely curable and if detected and reported early, further damage to the cervical cells and cancer can be prevented, she said.
HPV initially causes genital warts and other abnormal skin and body surface disorders, leads to many changes in cervical cells that may eventually lead to cancer.
Fascinated with modern lifestyle girls are getting sexually active at a very young age and are even involved sexually with multiple partners. So, we advise parents to get their girls vaccinated at the age of 12 or 13 as the frequency of cervical cancer is the highest in age between 12 and 28 years”, said a gynaecologist.
In a bid to make women aware of the cervical cancer as well as breast cancer a free medical health checkup camp was organised at the Mother Care hospital at City Center sector-4 at Bokaro where more than 100 patients got benefited and their bone minerals were tasted in the camp, informed the hospital sources.