Cervical Cancer Training and Screenings
The women, who were screened, included 109 hospital workers. These hospital employees were predominately migrant workers from rural provinces who are cleaners and care workers.
Lily Hsu, Project HOPE’s Program Director for China, and I traveled to Shenyang in Liaoning Province to attend a training session about cervical cancer cytology. I was able to sit through most of the training program, minus the hands-on screening.
The hospital in Shenyang has a rich history. It predates the Communist Party, and it has one of the oldest medical schools in China. Lily informed me that the hospital was built by the Japanese during the Japanese occupation. The building’s architecture is beautiful – with high ceilings and wide staircases. As we made our way to the training room, I was taken aback by the jars of preserved organs and ancient medical instruments that were on display and lined the corridor to the classroom.
The training for cervical cancer screening began with sessions taught by experts from Liaoning province. Lily Hsu spoke about Project HOPE’s history and the purpose of the training program. BD representatives were in attendance, and I was present for the entire full-day session. After the training session, I shared my observations with Lily as we flew back to Shanghai.
A few days later, Lisa and Niki from Project HOPE’s Shanghai office attended the third anniversary celebration of the Fudan University Hospital for Obstetrics and Gynecology, which is in the Yangpu Hospital District in Shanghai. As part of the celebration, the hospital, in collaboration with the World Health Foundation and Project HOPE, sponsored a free clinic to screen women for cervical cancer.
100 physicians were on hand to provide the screenings. The women, who were screened, included 109 hospital workers. These hospital employees were predominately migrant workers from rural provinces who are cleaners and care workers. During the screenings, Niki, Lisa and their team of volunteers handed out information to the women. The information included a fan that contained facts about HPV and cervical cancer treatment and prevention.
Although I was not in attendance for this particular screening, I was happy to learn that this fan, which I helped to edit, was well received by the women in the clinic.