Cambridge, Fountain Varsities Launch Cervical Cancer Screening For 600 Osun Women

Fountain and Cambridge universities have commenced cervical cancer screening, Pap Smear Test and others for 600 women across Osun State.

The screening exercise which started on Thursday alongside VIA Testing, HPV Screening -qPCR Genotyping, LAMP Assay and Counselling and Education will run till Sunday, September 8, 2024.

The Vice-Chancellor of Fountain University, Osogbo, Osun State, Professor Ramota Karim, disclosed that the exercise will be held for four days at four different locations across Osun State, including Fountain University Health Centre, Salako/Aatiba, Iremide Medical Centre Annexe, FOMWAN and NASFAT Prayer Ground.

According to her “The grants for the screening on cervical cancer are in three phases which was won by Professor Nusrah Afolabi-Balogun of Clinical Bio-Chemistry and her Cambridge University counterpart, Dr Sarah Pensa.

“The grants worth several thousands of pounds. Part of it, we took delivery of N150m worth equipment last year and this is the second phase of it. Over 600 women at different locations has been selected across the state both rural and urban areas including the local government.”

Dr Sarah Pensa of Cambridge University warned that if cervical cancer is detected late it becomes deadly.

She said, “the issue with cervical cancer is that, if it is detected late it is deadly. So early diagnosis is helpful to know causative agent.

“I urge women to participate in this screening because it is very important. This exercise will help them to detect early.”

Also, Professor Afolabi-Balogun said “Cervical cancer should not kill any woman because it takes an average of 15 years before it develops from infection of the virus to the cancer itself.

“Women should screen early so that when the causative agent is detected there is treatment for it because after infection this can be cleared using several techniques to remove the causative agent even before it causes aberration.”