The United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) released a manual that outlines low-cost methods for treating cervical cancer including visually inspecting the area at the base of the womb, freezing pre-cancerous lesions, and conducting follow-up treatments with patients. According to UN News Service, many of the quarter of a million deaths of women worldwide from cervical cancer annually could have been avoided if the women received early screening and treatment of pre-cancerous lesions.
Dr. Sankaranarayanan, a WHO cancer screening expert, said that “cervical cancer is a disease of poor women.” The Associated Press reports that a half-million women are diagnosed with cervical cancer each year, with 80 percent of them from poor countries in Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa, the Caribbean, and the Indian sub-continent.
Early detection of pre-cancerous lesions can help doctors cure or prevent cervical cancer.
DONATE to the Feminist Majority Foundation and support its work for women’s rights and health globally
