Doctor Rashida Mohamed Abbas, Obstetrics and Gynecology consultant at the Abu Dhabi Police’s Medical Services Department indicated that cervical cancer accounts for the second cause of women mortality worldwide. She added that infection with some 15 types of Human Papilloma Virus (HIV) is the greatest risk factor for cervical cancer development.
In a series of educational lectures for women on means of prevention from the disease, Dr. Rashida Mohamed Abbas reported that cervical cancer mortality rates in the Middle East, amounts to an average of one death an hour; stressing that cervical cancer is not hereditary. The lectures were organized by the Abu Dhabi Police Medical Services Department for staff of the Ministry of Interior’s Medical Services section and the Al Dhabyaniah Committee at the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs in Abu Dhabi.
Dr Abbas indicated that prevention measures consist of a regular Pap smear screening of the cervix, once every 3 years, as well as the HPV vaccine for women aged 15-55 years. She explained that the vaccine provides protection from the disease for a period ranging between 10 to 20 years.
It is noteworthy that the Abu Dhabi Police Medical Services Department is organizing a series of health awareness lectures, to educate community members on means of prevention from diseases, and acquaint them with their risks.
