Cancer screening to begin today in Parvathipuram

Parvathipuram : Cancer screening programme will begin on Thursday in Parvatipuram Manyam district.

As part of the programme, medical and health staff will conduct house-to-house screening of every person aged 18 years and above.

The staff is going to take up awareness campaigns along with the screening. District Collector A Shyam Prasad informed that an action plan has been prepared to take up the programme intensively in the district.

The programme involved not only screening but also collection of health data on various aspects which would be helpful for betterment of the medical infrastructure in the district.

The cancer screening is going to be done among individuals above 18 years for oral and breast cancer screenings and those above 30 years for cervical cancer screening, he added.

Already training was imparted to the health staff in this regard, he said. Community health officers (CHOs), along with ANMs and ASHA workers, will conduct door-to-door visits to generate awareness of cancers through health education.

The Collector instructed the staff to conduct screening for oral and breast cancers and motivate 30+ women to get examined for cervical cancer by MO at VHC.

During fortnight visits by the medical officer to the village health clinics (VHCs), all suspected oral and breast cancer cases, along with women aged above 30 years mobilised for cervical cancer screening, will undergo further examination, he informed.

All suspected individuals by the medical officer, will be referred to a tagged medical college on fixed days, where a green channel is established for handholding the referred individuals for further evaluation and management, he said. The screening is expected to be completed approximately in six to nine months.

Around 10 gynaecologists, 7 dentists, 84 medical officers, 282 community health officers and 350 ANMs will be participating in the district to conduct the survey.