Photo By Alexandra Snyder | Myriam Jean-Alexis (Center) with Haiti Students... read more read more
Every year, more than two million women worldwide are diagnosed with breast or cervical cancer, but survival rates are largely determined by where a woman lives in the world, with many deaths in developing countries deemed preventable by U.S. healthcare standards.
In an effort to assist those without access to regular screenings for the diseases, Fort Belvoir Community Hospital Cytotechnologist, Myriam Jean-Alexis, recently travelled to Haiti with the collaborations of American Society of Cytopathology and Innovating Health International along with the Haitian Ministry of Health to open the first Pathology Lab in the country and train pathology workers in identifying cervical and breast cancer cells.
“The test for identifying these types of cancers takes no more than a few minutes to carry out,” said Jean-Alexis, who spent two weeks in Cap Haitien, Haiti. The test is brief and painless, inexpensive and life-saving. Yet all too often in Haiti, cervical cancer goes undiagnosed, she added.
In Haiti, which historically has limited health infrastructure and widespread poverty, the disease often goes undetected until it is too late.
"No structured screening program is in place so when women come for a diagnosis, it’s already too late,” said Jean-Alexis. “I was the first Cytotechnologist there and reviewed approximately 50 pap smears. Almost all of them were abnormal and almost all of them were from patients who were younger than we expect to see when it comes to seeing those types of issues- sometimes in their 30s.”
Cervical cancer is one of the most common cancers to strike Haitian women, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), and it is often fatal. A 2014 WHO report shows that out of 3,100 women killed by cancer in Haiti, nearly one fifth died of cervical cancer.
By contrast, in countries like the U.S., cervical cancer is nowhere near the most common cancer. This is in part because early detection and treatment can prevent precancerous lesions from growing – something that requires trained staff and regular check-ups. Vaccines to prevent human papillomavirus (HPV), the main cause of cervical cancer, are also available in more affluent countries.
“Cervical cancer is a disease of great inequities that mainly affects the most vulnerable groups of women,” said Dr. Macarena Pérez Castells in a report of the Pan American Health Organization. “Mortality rates are seven times higher in [Latin America and the Caribbean] compared to North America, and the gap is projected to widen even further by 2025.”
Jean-Alexis and others at Belvoir Hospital hope to close that gap through further volunteering in the country.
“The program that [Jean-Alexis] participated in is going to be in Haiti for a long time.” Said Army Sgt. 1st Class Kevin Atiase, acting supervisor and senior enlisted leader of the hospital’s Pathology Department. “Early detection is key. To be able to assist patients with a diagnosis when the disease is at a low-level is important. Lives are saved because of the work that we do in our profession. It’s important to bring that care to underprivileged people around the globe.”
Added Jean-Alexis, “Whenever there is an opportunity to help those more unfortunate than ourselves- especially women, who are often not offered the same rights and access as females in the United States- we should. It’s rewarding for us that do it and it’s rewarding for those who are receiving our care.”
| Date Taken: | 02.16.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 02.17.2017 09:27 |
| Story ID: | 223791 |
| Location: | FORT BELVOIR, VIRGINIA, US |
| Web Views: | 84 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, For Belvoir Hospital Staff Member, Giving Back is all in a Day’s Work, by Alexandra Snyder, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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