Trinidad & Tobago’s Newsday
By LARA PICKFORD GORDON Tuesday, September 7 2010
SEXUALLY active females, even those classified as “children”, should get screened as a precaution against cervical cancer.
According to Professor Kimlin Tam Ashing, Professor, Department of Population Sciences and Director of the Centre of Community Alliance for Research and Education, City of Hope US, screening should start among females 18 years-old. However, she qualified this statement saying it should take place at the time of sexual initiation.
“Unfortunately, that could be 12 or 14 so at that age if the child, she is a child, has begun sexual activity she really needs to be getting a pap test,” she said at the launch of the research study, “Role of Stigma in Cervical Cancer Screening in Trinidad and Tobago” at the Carlton Savannah. Among its aims is to identify the barriers to cervical cancer screening.
Cancer is the second leading cause of death in TT and data from the National Cancer Registry indicated that cervical cancer is the second leading cancer among women. Breast cancer ranks first. The pap smear test can be done annually or more frequently depending on what is found in the cells. Cervical cancer is caused by the human papilloma virus (HPV) which is sexually transmitted and can cause cancerous cellular changes which affect the area at the opening of the uterus.