CERVICAL CANCER

Cervical cancer



Abstract

Cervical cancer is the third most leading cause of cancer deaths in women after breast and lung cancer, mortality rates equating to nine deaths per 100 000 women. In general terms, cervical cancer affects over 1.4 million women. Cervical cancer is described as a silent killer as it can take many years to develop and women may not present with any symptoms for a significant period of time during which the disease is active. By the time, symptoms appear so, the disease is often in an advanced stage, increasing the chances of mortality. Cervical cancer is, nevertheless, one of the few cancers with a readily evident and treatable precursor stage. There is no doubt that prevention and screening is the most important and reliable cancer fighting strategy that exists today.

Table of Contents

Introduction4

Factors influencing cervical screening uptake5

Methodology7

Design7

Participants7

Data collection8

Ethical considerations9

Data analysis9

Findings10

Conclusion10

Recommendations11

Cervical Cancer

Introduction

In the UK, the NHS Cervical Screening Programme has played a major role in reducing mortality from cervical cancer. In order to achieve maximum effect, cervical screening programmes are dependent on the eligible female population responding to an invitation to be screened. Researchers noted that the success of a cervical screening programme depends on the degree of coverage, and different recruitment strategies needed for different groups. Furthermore, while the rate of alternative cases of cervical cancer has decreased overall, this decrease has not been seen in women from socially deprived groups who unfortunately, are the group least likely to participate in the screening programmes. Social deprivation can be considered as comprised of various domains, including income, employment, health, education, proximity to services, living environment and crime. Therefore, the reasons for nonattendance for cervical screening in such women need to be examined (Kelsey 2000, p.443).

Cervical cancer is the second most prevalent cancer in women worldwide. Every year, 493 243 new cases diagnosed and 273 505 women die from it. In Singapore, more than 200 women diagnosed with cervical cancer every year and of these, more than 100 die from it.3 Efforts to reduce the burden of cervical cancer with cytology screening in the last 50 years have had limited success. Undeniably, countries with well-organized screening programs have witnessed substantial drops in the incidence and mortality rate of cervical cancer. However, such programs are costly in terms of both finances and manpower. Furthermore, a large proportion of women at risk of cervical cancer have no access to screening. In Singapore, a national screening program launched in 2004. Although more than half of the eligible women have had at least one cytology test within the last 3 years, many do not participate in routine screening. The implementation of screening in Singapore has yet to be optimized (Eardley 1995, p.962).

Factors influencing cervical screening uptake

Theoretical models, such as the health belief model, are commonly used to understand and identify reasons for the non compliance rates for cervical cancer screening among women. According to researchers, the health belief model proposes that a person must believe that their behaviour will result in immediate ...