FBC News 
The Western Division is taking an important step forward in Fiji’s fight against cervical cancer with the rollout of the HPV Screen and Treat Programme, bringing cervical cancer prevention services closer to women in our communities.
Dr Nanise Sikiti, a gynaecological oncologist at Aspen Medical-managed Lautoka Hospital, says the programme specifically targets women aged between 30 and 59 years and offers a simple, private and convenient approach to cervical cancer screening.
Dr Sikiti says unlike traditional cervical screening, HPV screening allows women to collect their own samples.
She says women are guided through the process and can collect their samples in privacy. The samples are then tested for high-risk types of human papillomavirus (HPV), the virus responsible for almost all cervical cancers.
Dr Sikiti says one of the programme’s major advantages is its screen-and-treat approach. Women can receive their HPV test results on the same day, and those who test positive and are clinically eligible may also receive treatment that day.
The programme will begin in Lautoka on Monday September 7, with screening available at Western Health’s Vidilo House.
Screening in Nadi will commence on Wednesday, September 9, at the Black Rock Health Centre.
The programme will progressively expand across the Western Division, with other subdivisions expected to begin their rollouts over the coming weeks. Further information about screening locations and dates will be shared as the services become available.
On average, close to 90 women and girls lives in Fiji are lost to cervical cancer annually.
