Screening and Vaccination for Cervical Cancer

Cervical cancer or cervical cancer is the fourth leading cause of death in women worldwide. On May 14, 2018 WHO announced the call to eradicate cervical cancer as a public health problem and in 2019 plans to increase the global vaccination, screening, pre-cancer treatment, and cancer treatment.

Screening for cervical cancer should be done on:
A. women of childbearing age 20-50 years
B. women who have had active sexual relations before the age of 20 years
C. Women who frequently have sex with multiple partners

Various kinds of examinations or screening were developed in developed and developing countries to accelerate the identification and elimination of cervical cancer.

The types of cervical cancer screening are:
1.IVA (Visual Inspection with Acetic Acid)
IVA examination is an examination by directly applying acetic acid (concentration of 3% -5%) on the cervix, after waiting for approximately 1 minute if there are pre-cancerous cells a white spot will appear.
2. PAP SMEAR
A Pap smear is done by taking a sample from the cervix, after which the cells will be examined in the laboratory to find out whether the sample contains precancerous or cancerous cells.
3. DNA-HPV
This examination procedure by examining the HPV DNA in cervical cells. Sampling in this examination is more or less like a pap smear.
4.Biopsi
A biopsy is a procedure to take a small portion of tissue from the body to be examined under a microscope.

Apart from carrying out the examinations as previously mentioned, in early 2023 the Ministry of Health has also run a free HPV vaccination program for grade 5 and 6 elementary school girls which will be carried out simultaneously in 34 provinces throughout Indonesia. Adult women can also do the HPV vaccination which is done privately with 3 doses. Pregnant women and the elderly as well as someone who has a chronic disease and is allergic to the HPV vaccine should not get vaccinated.

As women, we must care about reproductive health by carrying out reproductive examinations from an early age, one of which is cervical cancer screening or examination. Get your reproductive health checked by an obstetrician at Hermina Balikpapan Hospital. Never hesitate to ask a doctor because the reproductive organs are related to future survival, which must be better and better in the future.