DMI and DWTC educate staff on cervical cancer

Dubai Media Incorporated (DMI) and Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) recently organised a series of seminars and workshops to generate awareness about cervical cancer among their staff as part of the on-going "Everything I Can" global campaign.

The sessions aimed to educate their staff about the causes and methods of prevention and early detection of cervical cancer. The sessions were conducted by Dr Gaby Khayata, MD, Obstetrician and Gynaecologist at Dr Sulaiman Al Habib Medical Centre; and Dr Muna Tahlak, MD, FACOG, Consultant and Head of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Department at Al Wasl Hospital.

Cervical cancer, one of around 200 different types of cancer, results from the abnormal growth and division of cells that make up the cervix and is caused by a virus called Human Papillomavirus (HPV), a common type that infects half of all people at some point in their lives. However, cervical cancer, the second most common life-threatening cancer among women after breast cancer, is preventable.

The exact cause of cervical cancer is still unknown and symptoms do not appear until it reaches an advanced stage. HPV types 16 and 18 are cited as the cause of approximately 70 per cent of cervical cancer cases. The disease has an incidence rate of 4.8 for every 100,000 women per year in the Middle East and 9.9 for every 100,000 women in the UAE.

Pap smear screening is the most successful procedure to detect cervical cancer at an early stage and is credited with significantly reducing cervical cancer deaths since its widespread use began in the 1950s.

Mariam Al Mur Bin Huraiz, Manager of Society Department, DMI, said: "We aim to play a vital role in spreading the message of how fatal cervical cancer can be."

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