DHA's smart clinic raises awareness about prevention of cervical cancer.

• HPV vaccine part of mandatory pre-marital screening program which is available across all DHA PHC’s

Dubai, United Arab Emirates, January 7, 2015:  Medical professionals from the Dubai Health Authority (DHA) raised awareness about prevention of cervical cancer during the DHA’s #smart_clinic.

Information was disseminated via the Authority’s Twitter page, Instagram and through Periscope.

Cervical cancer is cancer of the cervix, which is the lower part of the uterus or womb.  Seven to eight women out of 100,000 women in the UAE have cervical cancer. Globally, half a million new cases of cervical cancer are detected annually and according to WHO cervical cancer is responsible for more than 270 000 deaths annually, 85% of which occur in developing countries.

Dr Aisha Ali Karam, consultant family medicine and head of women’s health unit at DHA’s primary healthcare sector, said: “Cervical cancer is one of the world’s deadliest - but most easily preventable - forms of cancer for women and therefore it is important to raise awareness about vaccination and screening. The most important regular check-up for all women who are married is the  pap smear test to check for cervical cancer.”

Dr Manal Wahba, gynaecologist at Dubai Hospital, said, “If screened early on, we can detect the pre-cancer cells and actually prevent cancer from developing. If a woman is diagnosed with cervical cancer at an early stage, it can be completely treated with minimal side effects. Therefore, screening is absolutely vital and it should take place every three years after marriage.”

Dr Suad Hashim, family physician and head of clinical prevention and health promotion unit said women should also be aware of the fact that they can be vaccinated against cervical cancer. “Almost all cases of cervical cancers are caused by HPV; persistent HPV infection is the biggest risk factor for cervical cancer and therefore women should get the HPV vaccine before marriage to protect themselves. The vaccine has three doses and it is available as part of the mandatory pre-marital counselling program that DHA offers across all its primary healthcare centres.”

Dr Maryam Mohammed Abdulkarim, consultant gynaecologist at Dubai Hospital said that HPV vaccine and regular pap-smear tests are the two major steps towards prevention, early detection and timely treatment of cervical cancer.