Cervical cancer (CCU) and breast cancer are among the top of the list of the most common pathologies among women in the world and especially in Morocco. About 90% of new cases and deaths were recorded in 2020 and occur in low- and middle-income countries, and the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that this frequency is expected to increase over the horizon. 2050.
Pink October is thus an opportunity for all countries and Morocco to increase awareness and screening for these cancers. In this context, a national campaign was launched on the 1st of the month by the Ministry of Health and Social Protection and which will be held until October 31, under the slogan “Early detection is prevention and for your health, protection”, aimed at raising awareness among the general population and paying particular attention to Moroccan women.
“October is a very important month for us. This is an opportunity for health personnel and for the actors concerned to boost awareness and screening for these pathologies that can harm women’s health.”, confides a specialist source, adding that “even though we shed more light on these topics in october, health centers nationwide continue throughout the year their mission to raise awareness and carry out screenings almost every day”.
” The CCU is positioned after breast cancer in Morocco in terms of the number of people affected and according to data from the cancer registry, this represents 8.1% of all those who have been identified.“explains the source.
” 53% of women whose test is often positive are aged between 40 and 59, while 33.9% from the age of 60. This CCU screening campaign targets women between the ages of 30 and 49 with the aim of detecting any anomaly as quickly as possible and having a better chance of treating it.“, she underlines.
The GLOBOCAN 2020 indicated that 2165 cases and approximately 1199 deaths are recorded each year, bringing the annual fatality rate to 55.4%.
” Multidisciplinary teams of doctors and nurses have been mobilized throughout the month in rural and urban health centers as well as workplaces such as factories, and women whose tests are positive are usually referred to reproductive health reference centers to confirm if it is indeed cancer or if it is another problem”, indicates our interlocutor, who welcomes the efforts made by the prefectures which “ have organized mini-campaigns at the national level in order to achieve the objective set by the Ministry of Health and to speed up the process“.
Otherwise, ” the success of these activities is thanks media awareness campaigns as well as those launched by associations, which have significantly helped in communication with the population outside the centres. This is one of the reasons why several women have traveled to benefit from screening and be examined by the mobile units.“, specifies the same source and to add that “ the campaigns took place under very good conditions, we can already see its positive impact on Moroccan women“.
To conclude, our interlocutor insists on the fact that the ” women need to be more aware and get screened for breast cancer every 2 years and for CCU every 3 years. This is a very important first step that will contribute to favorable treatment in the event of tumor detection.”.
Remember that the ministry of Health previously announced in a statement that “ early detection is integrated into primary health care and reinforced by the construction and equipment of 43 Reference Centers for Reproductive Health, 11 Regional Oncology Centers and 02 centers of excellence for mammary gynecological oncology as well as only through the acquisition of 22 mobile mammography units, intended to ensure access for women in remote areas“.