How MSF is breaking barriers to reduce preventable deaths
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Like many women living in the Blantyre district of Malawi, Elida worked on a small farm to support her family. When troubling symptoms, such as pain and bleeding, got in the way of her work, she decided to visit Queen Elizabeth Hospital for a consultation. Her diagnosis was bleak: Elida had cervical cancer.
After a few months in the oncology ward of Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Elida’s condition was deemed incurable. “I felt weak… I saw women dying in their beds near mine,” Elida said.
Elida was discharged and referred to Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) for home-based palliative care—one of many services offered through our local oncology program. Four months later, her condition had improved and she became eligible for curative surgery. The surgery went well, and today Elida is free of cancer and looking forward to getting her old life back.
Cancer has touched the lives of so many of us personally, and prevention, early detection, and comprehensive treatment are key to helping people like Elida survive a diagnosis.
Malawi, in particular, has the highest rate of mortality related to cervical cancer in the world, and 90 percent of cervical cancer deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries. That’s why MSF has worked with local health authorities since 2017 to develop a comprehensive oncology program in Malawi that expands access to the prevention and treatment of cervical cancer.
The program aims to develop new approaches and targets all stages of the cervical cancer disease course. In addition to palliative care, the program provides health promotion and screening, treatment (surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy), and vaccination against human papillomavirus (HPV).
No woman should have to die from cervical cancer. Stories like Elida’s are a powerful reminder of what’s possible when everyone has access to the comprehensive health services they need. With the support of generous donors, MSF is working tirelessly to enhance and expand this work to meet growing needs.
Just last month, for instance, MSF helped Malawi’s Ministry of Health reach nearly 30,000 young girls in schools across the Phalombe district with potentially lifesaving HPV vaccinations.
If you’re looking for another way to take action this World Cancer Day, watch and share this quick video to spread awareness about what can be done to make cervical cancer a thing of the past.
This email was sent from the U.S. section of Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), an international independent medical humanitarian organization that delivers emergency aid to people affected by armed conflict, epidemics, natural and man-made disasters, and exclusion from health care.
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