RIYADH: Cervical cancer rate survival among women could reach 92 percent if the ailment is detected early and treated properly under the guidance of a physician.
“If the diagnosis is delayed, the survival rate is much less,” said Dr. Karimah Salamah, head of the Department of Surgical Oncology at King Fahd Medical City (KFMC).
She made the announcement during a campaign on cervical cancer awareness at the hospital on Thursday in the presence of Dr. Mazen Al-Suhaibani, co-CEO of the hospital’s medical departments.
Dr. Salamah added that regular checkups ensure early diagnosis of the disease and the possibility that it could be cured completely.
She said that cervical cancer is one of the common types of cancer with about half-a-million women afflicted with the disease every year around the world.
Asked on the pregnancy of a woman with cervical cancer, Dr. Salamah said that this is possible with the availability of modern surgical techniques nowadays.
She said that cervical cancer usually develops slowly, starting as a non-cancerous form called dysplasia.
Dysplasia is an enlargement of the organ or tissue characterized by the proliferation of cells of an abnormal type. It is a developmental disorder or an early stage in the development of cancer.
She said the disease can be detected by screening or cervical survey, adding that “you can change the disease that takes years before it turns into cervical cancer.”
Dr. Salamah stressed that women infected with HPV (human papilloma virus) is one of the main dangerous factors with regard to cervical cancer.
Cervical cancer symptoms include unexplained change in the menstrual cycle, pain in the lower belly or pelvis, urinary problems because of blockage in the kidney or ureter, among others.
Early detection key to high cervical cancer survival
