Prevent and Detect Cervical Cancer in Guatemala

This past December, Guatemala became the first country in the region to adjust its guidelines for the screening and treatment of cervical cancer in alignment with new recommendations from the World Health Organization. This is a huge step in the right direction. While in much of the developed world death as a result of cervical cancer is uncommon, it is still a real issue in Guatemala and other developing countries. Cervical cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths among Guatemalan women of reproductive age.

WINGS will follow the Ministry of Health’s lead and implement the new guidelines into our own work with cervical cancer. The new guidelines take into consideration the limited resources many developing countries face, and recommend VIA-visual inspection with acidic acid- as a highly effective tool in detecting the presence of cancerous lesions. While WINGS has been using VIA to detect cervical cancer since 2006, we are excited to see this form of screening adopted by national health institutions and other NGOs. Results with VIA are immediate, which eliminates the need for women to wait or return the next day for their results and/or treatment.

The primary cause of cervical cancer is the human papilloma virus, or HPV. There is a serious gap in HPV related data for women in Guatemala, particularly indigenous women. WINGS Board member and retired OB/GYN Roger Duvivier recently participated in a study to obtain current data on the prevalence and strains of HPV in the underserved indigenous population of highlands Guatemala. And based on this study, roughly 50% of indigenous women harbor some form of the virus. While no nationwide plan is in place to distribute the HPV vaccination, further studies such as this one, will set the stage for such a campaign.

With vaccination, regular screening, and treatment, no women should die of cervical cancer. In 2014, WINGS held 82 medical clinics, in which over 2,000 women were screened using VIA for cervical cancer. 51 cases required treatment for lesions using cryotherapy. WINGS is determined to continue spreading awareness of cervical cancer among the underserved, indigenous population in so that no more women die unnecessarily from this treatable disease.

Links:

• WINGS Website

During September WINGS held our biannual family planning and cervical cancer prevention clinics in El Tejar, Chimaltenango and Antigua. Each clinic lasted two days and offered both long term family planning methods, specifically the Jadelle sub dermal implant and the copper IUD, and screenings for cervical cancer at extremely subsidized costs.

Generally, WINGS offers such clinics in Alta Verapaz where the population is mainly rural indigenous, as the more urban departments in Guatemala typically have more options available when it comes to reproductive health. However, as seen by the large turnout of women that attend our clinics in Chimaltenango and Antigua, there is still great need for WINGS services in semi-urban areas.

At our Antigua clinic, we received a group of 50 women from Escuintla, who first walked over an hour to reach the nearest bus stop, many with a baby strapped to their back or a toddler in tow, and then traveled an additional 2 hours by bus to attend. Another group of 25 women came from a local nonprofit, Camino Seguro, in Guatemala City, and were so pleased with WINGS care that future collaboration is being discussed.

To begin each clinic, WINGS nurses give a short talk about the methods being offered and the importance of getting screened for cervical cancer. Women are given the opportunity to voice any concerns or questions they may have about any of the services before deciding which they would like to use. It is very common that a woman comes to the clinic looking only to use a family planning method, and decides to do the cervical cancer exam as well, or vice versa.

In total, WINGS attended to 233 women throughout the 4 clinic days.

We performed 173 rapid cancer screenings, and implanted 76 Jadelles and 10 copper IUDs.  

Thankfully treatment for precancerous lesions was only necessary in 2 cases.

We are encouraged that 20% of women in attendance were under 25 years of age, demonstrating interest from younger women in taking action concerning their reproductive health.

*For more photographs from our recent clinics, visit WINGS´ Facebook page.

Links:

• WINGS Facebook
• WINGS website