GYNECOLOGIC ONCOLOGY/CERVICAL CANCER SCREENING PROGRAM

Cervical cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths for Rwandan women; there were over 1300 new cases of cervical cancer in 2018 and over 900 deaths from cervical cancer that year. Despite the staggering number of women affected, there is no cervical cancer screening currently available for women in Rwanda. In 2019, IOWD and Brown University initiated a cervical cancer screening program led by a team of gynecologic oncologists. The program is currently focusing on screening all women, with the ability to treat early pre-cancerous lesions using thermoablation. Training of Rwandan providers is one of the top priorities of this program and training of nurse midwives and physicians is already underway at Kibagabaga Hospital. The program also lectures and is working to train the Rwandan Ob/Gyn residents at the University Teaching Hospital of Kigali (CHUK) as these are the young doctors who are the future leaders in their field. In addition to expanding screening efforts, the program plans to train Rwandan gynecologists to perform LEEP procedures, which are procedures to treat severe pre-cancerous lesions, in order to maximize the ability to treat women and prevent a cervical cancer from forming. The impact that cervical cancer prevention can have is immense; not only on the women it affects, but also on their family, children, and society as a whole.