Waging War

Cervical cancer is a huge issue in the developing world. I would say that 99% of the women I see in my clinic have never had a pap smear. Unfortunately most cancers are usually not identified until a patient is in the final stages with metastasis throughout his/her body. Last year I looked at some statistics regarding cervical cancer. Unfortunately Kenya came up as one of the countries in the “red zone”; meaning that they have some of the world’s highest death rates related to cervical cancer. I consider this fact to be a tragedy when one considers how preventable and treatable this cancer is. I performed pap smears while I was working in the USA. But here in Kenya I was stuck with a dilemma. If I do a pap, who is going to read it and tell me the results? And secondly, what good is it to have results if I don’t have treatment options available for the patient? It would be totally unethical for me to tell a patient “You have pre-cancerous cells on your cervix, but there is nothing I can do about it.”

Last year I lost a friend in the USA to cervical cancer. I think that this personal loss strengthened my desire to wage war on this disease.

So while William and I were in the USA last fall, I was able to take a post-grad gynecology course through UCLA. The main focus of the class was cervical cancer screening and early intervention. What attracted me to the course was the fact that I would be trained not only to identify the problem, but also how to do something about it. The first part of the training was the classroom/lecture portion. Now I’m getting into the hands-on part where I’m doing an internship one day a week with a team of OB/GYN’s in Eldoret (the town about an hour from our home.)

Last week was my first day in the clinic in Eldoret. The physician I was working with was incredible. She was right at my side, but also got me right into performing the nitty gritty parts of the procedures. Once I complete my training, I’m hoping to launch a women’s health center right from our clinic in Chebaiywa. I want to turn my office into a make-shift gynecology exam room. Where I can assess, diagnose AND treat patients with pre-cancerous lesions.

We still have a road ahead in obtaining all the necessary equipment. But I believe with all my heart that God will open the doors and help make it happen. And I feel so blessed in that I’m able to actually do my hands-on training here in Kenya. It is so much better than if I had interned in a fancy USA office. As always, thanks for joining me on this amazing journey. I’ll try to keep you posted on my progress as I work to complete my training and prepare for a final exam later this year.