| dc.description.abstract | Cancer of the cervix is the second most common cancer among women and the leading killer of
women in their reproductive ages.
The World Health Organization
estimated that 529,409 new
cases occurred globally, with 274,883 of the women (52% of cases) dying.
Of the total new cases
each year, about 86% occur in developing countries, where, unfortunately, 80
-
90% of cervical
cancer
-
related deaths occur due to, among other things, poverty, cultural beliefs
and
lack of
awareness.
In the developed world,
the situati
on is different
due to advanced medical care, policies
that are enforced to ensure that women go for pap smears at least once every yea
r
, coupled with
media awareness
.
The situation is quite different in devel
oping world especially in Kenya; where
p
overty,
lack of awareness, misconceptions and cultural beliefs inhibit the detection, diagnosis,
treatment and/or management and prevention of cervical cancer among women.
In Kenya,
c
ervical
cancer is the second most frequent cancer among women and the leading c
ause of cancer deaths in
women of reproductive age (WRA)
with a rate of 300,000 deaths per year.
Data from hospital
-
based
registries in Kenya indicate that cancer of the cervix accounted for 70
-
80% of all cancers of the
genital tract and 8
-
20% of all cance
r cases
. T
hese statistics do not reflect the cases that go
unreported and those in the rural areas. It has been reported that there are 10 to 15 new cases of
cervical cancer in Nairobi each week
.
Despite the grave situation in the country, the media, the
g
overnment and other stakeholders have not made deliberate efforts towards creating awareness
campaigns aimed at the prevention of cervical cancer.
The mai
n objective of this paper
is
to
examine the influence of radio and television in
creating
cancer awareness among women in
Kenya, with special focus on
Nairobi County.
The paper is
b
ased on an on
-
going PHD study that is
being done by the same authors in Nairobi. | en_US |
