IGCS Fellowship Annual Report - Report - Page 3
P-3
The
Challenge
The Global Burden
of Women's Cancer
Despite the fact that cervical cancer
is a preventable and treatable cancer,
hundreds of thousands of women
die from this disease each year,
most of them residing in low- and
middle-income countries.
—
In low and middle-income countries (LMICs), many
cancers are gynecologic in origin, with cervical cancer
being predominant. Cervical cancer is a preventable and
treatable disease with HPV vaccination, screening, and
effective treatment.
342
k
342,000 women died
of cervical cancer
worldwide in 2020.
Closing the Health Equity Gap
85
%
of these deaths occur in LMICs.
Most of these women die in
terrible circumstances where
there is no or minimal care.
The World Health Organization (WHO)
in 2018 released a global call to action
towards the elimination of cervical
cancer as a public health problem.
The solution calls for HPV vaccination
(prevention), screening and prompt
treatment of pre-cancer and invasive
cancers, and access to palliative care
when a cure is not possible.
Efforts at screening have been limited,
partially because there are not enough
providers properly trained to screen
and treat both pre-cancerous lesions
and cancer in the early stages.
Global Gynecologic Oncology Fellowship || 2022 Impact Report || igcs.org
