Qatar has joined other countries in the world to raise awareness about cervical cancer, the fourth most frequently diagnosed cancer in women. To mark Cervical Cancer Awareness Month in January, the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) is raising awareness of cervical cancer in a social medial campaign by both advising women how to protect themselves from the disease and increasing public understanding of the importance of prevention and early diagnosis. The campaign spreads awareness under several topics including, ‘spread the knowledge’, ‘educate yourself and those around you’ and ‘did you know’.
“Cervical cancer generally occurs in midlife. Most cases are found in women younger than 50, but rarely develops in women younger than 20,” said the Ministry. A major cause of most cervical cancers is an infection called human papillomavirus (HPV). Cervical cancer usually develops slowly, evolving over a number of years (10 to 15 years) during which time the cells in the cervix undergo changes. These changes can be detected by a pap smear, a procedure which checks for the presence of pre-cancerous and cancerous cells on the cervix. The risk of cervical cancer can be lowered by having the HPV vaccine. It is recommended that the vaccine which protects against several strains of human papillomavirus is administered at age 13 years. Symptoms of cervical cancer include abnormal bleeding, such as bleeding between menstrual periods or after menopause, and discharge that is unusual in amount, colour, consistency, or smell.
Early cervical cancer (stage I) usually has no symptoms and is often only detected through a pap smear test. The Ministry has cautioned that diet lacking in fruits and vegetables, being overweight, long term use of oral contraceptive pills (over 5 years), and women who have had three or more full term pregnancies, women under the age of 17, when they had their full term pregnancy can increase the risk of developing cervical cancer. Cervical cancer in Qatar is the third most common gynaecological cancer and represents 24 percent of all gynaecological cancers. About 40 percent of all cervical cancers are diagnosed at stage II of the disease.
According to the National Cancer Framework 2017 – 2022, “Cervical screening currently operates within Qatar on an opportunistic basis due to the relatively low prevalence of the disease. A situational analysis to understand the evidence base for the adoption of a national population-based cervical cancer screening service in Qatar is currently under evaluation between screening service providers and the MoPH.” Screening tests (pap smears) are generally available at all Primary Health Care Corporation (PHCC) health centres and are free of charge for those with a valid health card. Besides, Sidra Medicine has launched a Cervical Screening Clinic which offers screening and HPV vaccinations to all eligible women
