Around a thousand women in Serbia are diagnosed with cervical cancer every year, and approximately 500 lose the battle against this type of cancer.
Another European Cervical Cancer Prevention Week is behind us, and this year’s slogan is Cervical Cancer – a cancer we can prevent. So, don’t waste time, make an appointment for a gynaecological examination: early detection of cervical cancer is done with simple Pap Test screening.
Cervical cancer has been one of the leading causes of illness and death of women in our country for years. Serbia is in the infamous fifth place in Europe in terms of contracting and dying from this disease, which can be prevented. Human papilloma virus (HPV) is responsible for almost all cases of cervical cancer. Serbia is among the countries where it is possible to vaccinate children against diseases caused by human papilloma viruses, at the expense of the state.
According to data from the Institute for Student Health Care in Belgrade, the largest number of affected women are between the ages of 40 and 59, but in recent years there has been a noticeable increase in the number of newly discovered cases among the younger population, even among teenage girls.
That is why it is important to know that women in Serbia have someone to turn to. In particular, the European Union has made an incredible contribution in this domain, supporting the national cancer screening program with EUR 6.6 million.
Also, nine primary health centres – in Aleksinac, Babušnica, Bela Palanka, Brus, Gadžin Han, Doljevac, Knjaževac, Merošina and Svrljig – thanks to the donation of the European Union and the Government of Switzerland, received new medical equipment for gynaecological surgeries worth more than EUR 100,000.
It is also important to mention that in 2004, EUR 3.8 million were allocated for the development of preventive health care in order to improve preventive health services by solving the main causes of morbidity and mortality of the population through the establishment of 25 centres for preventive care in the primary health centres in Serbia.
We should not forget that numerous patients throughout Serbia benefit from the reconstruction and construction of 20 large hospitals with the support from the European Investment Bank loans.
Read more about the overall support of the European Union to the Serbian health care system here.
The third week of January has been marked as the European Cervical Cancer Prevention Week since 2007. This initiative was initiated by the European Association for the Fight against Cervical Cancer (European Campus Card Association-ECCA), after which the Council of Europe made recommendations on starting the campaign and marking the European Cervical Cancer Prevention Week. This is the seventeenth year that the European Week is celebrated in Serbia.
Prevention, early diagnosis, treatment and care after medical treatment are the four key points of the European plan to fight cancer.
Read more:
Regular examinations are the best prevention of breast and cervical cancer
European Week Against Cancer – Fight against cancer as a priority
