Women wearing pink for breast cancer awareness.
Women are being encouraged to make their health a priority this Women’s Month by learning more about cervical cancer, a disease that is largely preventable and highly treatable when detected early.
Lorraine Govender, national manager of health programmes at the Cancer Association of South Africa (Cansa), said greater awareness, routine screening and the early treatment of precancerous lesions are critical to improving outcomes. She urged women to recognise the warning signs of cervical cancer and seek medical attention as early as possible, The Star reported.
While South Africa has made significant progress in advancing gender equality, expanding economic opportunities and empowering women, Govender said many continue to neglect their own health in the process.
“Often, it’s a matter of having little or no time to go for medical check-ups and ignoring niggling symptoms. And there are also those women who just don’t know about cancer and how to recognise its symptoms.”
