PETALING JAYA: The lifetime risk of a Malaysian woman developing cervical cancer is one in 116, with about two-thirds or 76 per cent being diagnosed in the later stages of the disease.
Malaysia falls far below the World Health Organisation (WHO) target when it comes to cervical screening — achieving a rate of only 12.8 per cent, a far cry from WHO’s target of 70 per cent.
“Prevention is the answer to stop cervical cancer, but the challenge is getting women to come forward to be screened.
“Sadly, only about 24 per cent of Malaysian women are diagnosed at the early stage, or Stage 1, while 76 per cent are diagnosed at later stages 2, 3 and 4,” said Removing Obstacles to Cervical Screening (ROSE) ambassador Nurul Izzah Anwar.
She said cervical cancer was the third most common cancer at 7.7 per cent after breast cancer (32.1 per cent) and colorectal cancer (10.7 per cent) among Malaysian women.
Many things have been linked to cancer, from genetics to tobacco use, but most cervical cancer cases are caused by a genital infection called human papilloma virus, or HPV.
According to the WHO, although most HPV infections clear up on their own and most pre-cancerous lesions resolve spontaneously, there is a risk that the HPV infection might become chronic and pre-cancerous lesions might progress to become invasive cervical cancer.
It takes 15 to 20 years for cervical cancer to develop in women with normal immune systems.
It can take only five to 10 years in women with weakened immune systems, such as those with untreated HIV infection.
“Under Programme Rose, it is our vision to see a cervical cancer free future for all women in Malaysia.
“Rose is a new integrated technology-driven screening approach which enables women to get tested for cervical cancer in the comfort of their own homes.
“In fact, it is the world’s first cervical screening programme featuring self-sampling by women themselves,” said Nurul.
She explained that Programme Rose began as a research project led by Universiti Malaya.
“The aim of the pilot project was to assess the acceptability, feasibility and reach of a novel cervical screening strategy that utilises self-sampling in primary care settings, HPV testing and follow-up of screened positive women in a tertiary hospital in Malaysia.
“Instead of the conventional pap smear conducted by a healthcare professional involving a pelvic examination, Rose offers women the choice of using a self-swab: a quick, convenient and effective approach to enable molecular tests to be undertaken followed by prompt delivery of results straight to their mobile phone.”
She said Programme Rose, which was developed early this year, was designed specifically for Malaysian women.
“This evidence based approach can save lives and spare women and families from the suffering and financial hardship associated with cervical cancer,” she said.
By delivering the results to mobile phones, Nurul said there would be less need for clinic visits and it would also eliminate the embarrassment and fear associated with a pap smear, which was previously the only tool available for the early detection of cervical cancer.
She said awareness was still lacking, especially among women in rural areas.
Relating an incident in Betong, Sarawak, she said she was deeply disturbed when she visited a woman who was suffering from Stage 4 cervical cancer.
“The woman was a rubber tapper and she continued working even though she was unwell.
“To reach her workplace, she had to walk two miles while carrying a toddler on her back.
“Only when she began bleeding and could no longer bear the pain, was she was rushed to a clinic in Sarikei and then sent to Kuching and finally to Universiti Malaya Medical Centre here,” she said.