Martha Wanjiru, Registered Palliative Care Nurse, Breast and Cervical Cancer Advocate, Kiambu County, Kenya, shared on LinkedIn:
“The Numbers Do Not Matter… The Woman Does.
A VIA-positive result.
An HPV DNA-positive result.
An LSIL or HSIL Pap smear result.
These are not just numbers, percentages, or statistics.
Behind every positive result is a woman.
A woman who may be frightened, confused, or anxious about what the result means. She needs reassurance that precancerous lesions can be treated. She needs clear education about HPV transmission and risk factors, timely treatment with thermal ablation or LEEP where appropriate, and guidance on what to expect after treatment.
Most importantly, she needs to know when to return for follow-up and why rescreening after one year matters. Screening is only the beginning.
The numbers may tell us how many women we reached. The quality of care is measured by what happens to each woman after a positive result.
Let us move beyond counting screened women to ensuring that every woman with an abnormal result is navigated to treatment, follow-up and rescreening.
The numbers do not matter if the woman behind the number is lost to care.”
Other articles featuring Martha Wanjiru on OncoDaily.
