VSMMC offers free Pap smear this May

CEBU, Philippines — Rather than paying for the procedure, women can avail of free screening test for cervical cancer at the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VSMMC) during office hours on weekdays.

Several women here found suffering from cervical cancer are at an advanced stage already and so regional health authorities intend to step up efforts for early detection.

In a media forum on Wednesday, gynecologists from VSMMC announced that this “Scarlet” May, in observance of Cervical Cancer Consciousness Month, free services will be given, particularly Pap test or Pap smear, a cervical screening used to detect pre-cancerous and cancerous processes in the cervix.

“This screening program is in partnership with the Eduardo J. Aboitiz Cancer Center (EJACC) of the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. (RAFI). This initiative started since last year. This is only offered for the month of May,” said VSMMC medical officer Dr. Catherine Timbal, in a radio-live forum dubbed “Kapihan sa PIA” organized by the Philippine Information Agency.

VSMMC represen-tatives encouraged women to avail of this free service.

Standard price for Pap smear at VSMMC can cost P250, while private hospitals may charge patients from P800 to P1,000.

Timbal said early detection is important because many women die because they are already diagnosed of the disease at an advanced stage, which is hard to manage already.

She said 10 to 12 of 1,000 women die due to cervical cancer.

She said cervical cancer is common in women from 30 to 50 years old, but she lamented that patients had gone younger.

She said the youngest patient VSMMC handled was 22 years old, who was already at Stage 2B.

Timbal said majority of cases at the VSMMC show that women are already found with Stage 3 or 4.

She described cervical cancer a “silent killer” because this viral infection slowly develops and matures after 10 to 20 years.

Cancer of the cervix often has no symptom in its early stage that is why undergoing screening procedures for women who have already experienced sex is important.

Timbal said cervical cancer, a type of cancer that develops in a woman's cervix, is caused by various strains of the human papillomavirus (HPV), a sexually transmitted infection.

“Once a woman experiences sexual contact, she is already at risk of cervical cancer,” she said.

But women at higher risk are those that have multiple sexual partners, or those that have experienced sex at an early age.

Timbal said at an advanced stage, one of the common symptoms is the abnormal vaginal bleeding; the woman may also have difficulty in urinating or defecating.

VSMMC medical officer Dr. Jessa Alemania urged women to subject themselves into screening to make sure that one is free of any risk of cervical cancer.

She said some of the preparations before undergoing Pap smear are, namely: (1) no sexual contact for 24 hours; and (2) no use of vaginal suppositories for within 78 hours.

Alemania said the woman should also have no bleeding.

She said the free service is open to all women above 21.

It will be conducted at VSMMC Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. — /GAN (FREEMAN)