{"id":869,"date":"2018-12-14T15:54:16","date_gmt":"2018-12-14T08:54:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.co.th\/blog\/?p=869"},"modified":"2019-05-29T10:57:07","modified_gmt":"2019-05-29T03:57:07","slug":"how-does-thailand-combat-cervical-cancer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.co.th\/blog\/how-does-thailand-combat-cervical-cancer\/","title":{"rendered":"How does Thailand combat cervical cancer?"},"content":{"rendered":"

It is rather unthinkable that cervical cancer was the most common cancer for women in Thailand just twenty years ago. The country\u2019s 30 years of the test-and-refer approach had failed to make a dent in the country\u2019s death toll from the disease. Luckily, this has all changed in 2000 with the Safety, Acceptability, Feasibility and program implementation Effort (SAFE) study.<\/span><\/p>\n

This June, the Provincial Health Office of Roi Et, one of the parties involved in implementing the SAFE study, has received the 2018 UN Public Service Award for its cervical cancer prevention programme. After the introduction of the programme, the number of cervical cancer cases has seen the largest decline over the past decade among Thailand\u2019s five leading causes of <\/span>cancer death<\/span><\/a> for women. This week, <\/span>Pacific Prime Thailand<\/span><\/a> will take a look at how the programme made a difference, and the symptoms, stages, and treatment of cervical cancer.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\"Individual<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n<\/span><\/p>\n

How does the new cervical cancer prevention work?<\/span><\/h2>\n

In 2000, Jhpiego, the government of Thailand, the Provincial Health Office of Roi Et, and the Royal Thai College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists have implemented the SAFE study, which has taken on a screen-and-treat approach for cervical cancer prevention. <\/span><\/p>\n

Unlike conventional cytology screening, this non-cytology-based approach is low-cost, does not require sophisticated equipment, and can be made available in under-resourced areas. Furthermore, this method allows women to attend a single visit with a health care provider and services can be provided by a nurse, allowing for task-sharing within the health system. Shifting the task from doctors to nurses to perform cryotherapy is largely attributed to the success of the programme since there were only 3 doctors in every 10,000 citizens in Thailand two decades ago, according to the statistics from <\/span>The World Bank<\/span><\/a>. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Over the next seven months, 5,999 women were screened for precancerous lesions. After one year of follow-up, 94\u00b73% of the women who received treatment after screening tested negative. Since then, 32 provinces have implemented the approach, providing free visual inspection of the cervix with acetic acid screenings (VIA) and cryotherapy services to women. Based on results from this study, the WHO has adopted the screen-and-treat strategy as part of their comprehensive cervical cancer guidelines.<\/span><\/p>\n

So what exactly is cervical cancer and what are its symptoms?<\/span><\/h2>\n

Cervical cancer is a form of cancer that affects the entrance to the uterus, which develops when cells in the cervix become abnormal and multiply rapidly. If left untreated or undetected, it may cause the patient to bleed to death eventually.<\/span><\/p>\n

Almost all cases of cervical cancer are caused by a specific type of virus called human papillomavirus (HPV), the most common sexually transmitted infection. There are over 100 different strains of HPV, of which at least 13 can cause cervical cancer.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the early stages of cervical cancer, the patient may not exhibit any symptoms at all. Therefore, it is crucial for women to undertake regular Pap tests, which involves swabbing your cervix with a device that\u2019s similar to a cotton swab for examination of precancerous or cancerous cells.<\/span><\/p>\n

When cancer progresses into advanced stages, women may notice the following symptoms including:<\/span><\/p>\n