Cervical cancer screening in J’khand better than Bengal

Ranchi: The National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) for the first time has included certain new parameters in its survey, including screening for

cancer

, among women in the age group 30 to 49 years.

In

Jharkhand

, only 0.5% of the surveyed women have confirmed to have undergone screening for

cervical

cancer. This figure of respondents is better than neighbouring Chhattisgarh and West Bengal where only 0.3% and 0.2% women have been screened.

In another neighbouring state Bihar, 0.8% women population have undergone screening whereas in Punjab, infamous for cancer cases as many as 2.5% women confirmed to have undergone screening for cervical cancer. Though this figure, which is under 5% in most of the states, appears miniscule, health experts believe that not all women require scientific screening and only a certain faction of the women in reproductive age group, who are either symptomatic or in high-risk category are required to undergo screening (on diagnostic machine) for detection and treatment.

Among the districts, Giridih with 1.9% responses is at the top whereas in Jamshedpur and Dumka, not a single woman in the sample survey responded to have undergone screening for cervical cancer ever. In Ranchi, 0.3% women have undergone screening where the sample size was 979 households comprising 1,182 women and 156 men respondents for the entire NFHS-5 survey.

Head, women’s wing of Jharkhand chapter of Indian Medical Association, Dr Bharti Kashyap, who has been spearheading the campaign to hold camps and screen women against cervical cancer and anaemia, said that they have recently fixed a target of 6% of the total women population in reproductive age group for screening. “On our proposal Jharkhand government has decided to screen at least 6% of the women population in every district, who are either symptomatic or in high-risk group because the remaining may not develop cervical cancer at all and do not require screening,” she said.