WINGS Reproductive Healthcare for Every Guatemalan

A report published in January 2010 concludes that using a “see and treat” approach to diagnosing cervical cancer in developing countries could prevent more than 100,000 cervical cancer deaths annually. The study, published in the journal The Obstetrician and Gynaecologist, said that visual inspection with acetic acid and treatment with cryotherapy, known as VIA/CRYO, could help decrease the estimated 300,000 worldwide cervical cancer deaths each year, 85% of which occur in developing countries where health service infrastructures are typically poor and the costs of screening and treatment can be high.

This study confirms what WINGS has long known, that providing women with simple and affordable same-day detection and treatment services is the one of the most effective ways to prevent cervical cancer in low-income and rural areas.  This is why, since 2006, WINGS has used the “see and treat,” or VIA/CRYO, technique as its primary method to detect and treat cervical cancer.  This past year, WINGS used this technique to screen more than 3,200 women, and provided same-day treatment to 60% of the women whose test indicated the presence of precancerous cell growth.

In Guatemala, cervical cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths among women of reproductive age, with 3.77 million Guatemalan women currently at risk for this potentially fatal cancer. Over 60 percent of female cancer cases attended by the National Cancer Institute in Guatemala are cervical cancer, which accounts for more than breast, skin, ovarian and stomach cancers combined.

Consider the story of Julia, a 40 year-old mother of 6 from Santa Lucia Milpas Altas.  When Julia had her first screening with WINGS’ partner, APROFAM, same-day treatment was not available and Julia did not return to find out her results.  After becoming pregnant with her last child, Julia decided once again to attend a cervical cancer clinic, but this time she was screened using the “see and treat” method at a WINGS-sponsored clinic.  That same day she found out that not only did she have precancerous cell growth, she also had advanced signs of ovarian cancer.  Fortunately, WINGS subsidized the cost of her follow-up treatment at the National Cancer Institute, where both of Julia’s conditions were treated successfully.  Without the same-day results offered by the “see and treat” technique, Julia may not have known about her disease in time to prevent her 6 children from being orphaned.  She now works with her local government’s health department and partners with WINGS to raise awareness about the benefits of “see and treat” screening to women in her community.

To learn more about our cervical cancer program, click here.  By supporting WINGS’ cervical cancer program, you can help to ensure that more women, like Julia, have access to same-day detection and treatment services that literally saves lives.  To make a secure online donation, click here, or send a check made out to WINGS with the note 'cervical cancer' to our office at 793 Ashbury St., San Francisco, CA 94117.