El-Nafaty, a former Medical Director, Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Gombe, gave the advice at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) in Gombe on Friday.
In his presentation entitled, “The Role of Vaccine in Cervical Cancer”, the medical practitioner said that cervical cancer was the second leading cancer in women that caused death.
According to him, cancer cases are increasing daily, hence the need for women to go for screening and vaccination.
El-Nafaty said the vaccine was not new in the developing countries, but was in Africa, adding that the complete dose of the vaccine cost N15,000 while the cost of the screening was N1,500.
He explained that the disease was common among commercial sex workers who usually had multiple sex partners
Cervical cancers start in the cells on the surface of the cervix. There are two types of cells on the cervix's surface: squamous and columnar. Most cervical cancers are from squamous cells.
Cervical cancer usually develops very slowly. It starts as a precancerous condition called dysplasia. This precancerous condition can be detected by a Pap smear and is 100% treatable. It can take years for precancerous changes to turn into cervical cancer. Most women who are diagnosed with cervical cancer today have not had regular Pap smears or they have not followed up on abnormal Pap smear results.
Almost all cervical cancers are caused by HPV (human papilloma virus). HPV is a common virus that is spread through sexual intercourse. There are many different types of HPV. Some strains lead to cervical cancer. (Other strains may cause genital warts, while others do not cause any problems at all.)
A woman's sexual habits and patterns can increase her risk for cervical cancer. Risky sexual practices include having sex at an early age, having multiple sexual partners, and having multiple partners or partners who participate in high-risk sexual activities.
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