Ida Karpinska, head of the Kwiat Kobiecosci was only able to fully recover from the tumour because it was detected early enough through regular cervical screening. Unfortunately, the majority of women in Poland skip these prophylactic tests, and when Ida realized this and reflected on her own situation it impacted her greatly.
Even though the government will pay for a prophylactic test once every three years, as many as 80 percent of women don’t make use of this opportunity. As a result, the cervical cancer is discovered too late, and half of every ten women in which it was detected die everyday, according to the Polish Oncology Association.
The National Cancer Registry states that Poland has one of the highest morbidity rates (an incidence of about 3,000 people per year) and fatality rates in Europe. The number of women dying from cervical cancer in Poland is 70 percent above the European Union average. Furthermore, experts from the World Health Organization believe that almost 100 percent of cases are due to the human papillomavirus, and this debunks the idea that cervical cancer has a genetic origin.
Started in 2006, Kwiat aims to raise awareness of cervical cancer and to support women who are struggling with the condition. Over a hundred volunteers also help out.
The number of people involved in the organisation increased dramatically following a new publicity campaign, and more women are giving maximum publicity to cancer prevention. She adds that with early detection, the guarantee of successful treatment is almost 100 percent. When the cancer is caught at an early stage and the surgery is not very invasive, these women even have a chance of having a baby.
Ida’s most important campaign for the past 8 years is called “Beauty In Health”. The campaign involves mobile testing units that takes only two minutes, which means that women can drop by and be screened without having to arrange a doctor’s appointment or providing health insurance.
Kwiat has other activities like the St Nicholas’ Day campaign when women visit patients in hospital with gynecological cancer to provide moral support.
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Source: The Straits Times, 24 June 2017