Minister of Health, Dr Frank Anthony today handed over twenty Cryotherapy Machines to the Chronic Diseases Unit to enable immediate treatment for cervical cancer across the ten administrative Regions of Guyana.
The Cryotherapy Machines valued at $26,880,000 were funded by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and purchased through the Maternal and Child Health Programme, a release from the Ministry of Health (MOH) said.
Cryotherapy is the use of extreme cold temperatures to freeze and remove abnormal tissue.
During his brief remarks, Anthony said that the Ministry aims to provide a comprehensive cervical cancer programme.
The first level of this programme focuses on prevention, education and the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccine.
The Minister also added that women between the ages of 21 and 25 years old will need to undergo screening as part of the early detection and prevention strategy.
“These women can be screened through a Pap smear or VIA. If an abnormal cervix is identified, we can then perform cryotherapy”, Dr Anthony said.
Meanwhile, the Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Dr Narine Singh, stated that the MOH single-visit approach using the Visual Inspection with the Acetic Aid (VIA) method and the use of cryotherapy machines will enable the immediate treatment once the patient’s result is positive.
Among those in attendance at this morning’s activity, were Dr Ertenisa Hamilton, Director of Primary Health Care Services; Dr Dianelle Drepaul, Coordinator of the Chronic Diseases Unit, and Dr Latchmie Lall, Director of the Non Communicable Disease Programme.